After a two-year hiatus due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 25th edition of the Algiers International Book Fair, SILA, was inaugurated on Thursday March 24. The show takes place at the Palais des expositions in the Algerian capital until May 1st. It was the Prime Minister, Aïmene Benabderrahmane, who presided over the opening ceremony in the presence of several ministers.
The book, bridge for memory. This is the title of this 25ᵉ edition of the Algiers book fair where the collections of history occupy the first place. At the opening of the fair, the Algerian Prime Minister, Aïmene Benabderrahmane, called for greater interest “ to subjects evoking the history of Algeria before 1830, showing the intellectual level of Algerians before the French colonial invasion “. According to him, illiteracy was then only 13%, it reached 90% during colonization.
For Amin Idjer, communication manager at SILA, taking an interest in history has become a tradition at the Algiers book fair. ” With each edition, the organizers open a page in the history of Algeria. This 2022 edition coincides with the 60th anniversary of the recovery of Algerian sovereignty. So, a whole literary program has been organized, meetings around the books of memory, because it is important that this kind of works are available and present at the Algiers International Book Fair. It is something important for the collective memory. »
The show recorded a record attendance on the exhibitor side, with 1,250 exhibitors from 36 countries including France, Senegal and Mauritania. Italy is the guest of honor and this edition. More than two million people visited the last edition of this show, and the organizers hope as much.