November 2018

On the 9th of November, the members of the Network also visited the Vasconcelos Library. Daniel Goldin, Director of the Biblioteca Vasconcelos at the time, showed the group around this library, housed in an impressive building surrounded by gardens, in the heart of Mexico City. The activities held in this library over the past six years are aimed at welcoming and involving people of all ages, not only in the world of books but also in other arts-based activities.

The group spent half a day at the 38th International Children and Youth Book Fair (FILIJ), one of the largest children’s book fairs in the world, selecting books for further workshops and to add to the resource list now on the website.

Members of the Network participated in the International Meeting of Mediators and Promoters of Reading in Migrant Contexts (November 6 and 7 in the city of Chihuahua) hosted by the State and Federal authorities of the National Program Reading from the Mexican Ministry of Culture. A total of 52 mediators and reading promoters from different parts of Mexico, from Baja California to Chiapas, participated in this meeting together with guests from Egypt and Central America, sharing experiences and readings through presentations and workshops. In this space, the Mexican mediators shared the results of the cultural intervention projects carried out with migrant populations, which were derived from the training carried out with the “Leer con migrantes” project sponsored by the Ministry of Culture. We visited two cultural centers and also had the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of the state of Chihuahua which has a border with the USA.

One of the events in Mexico City took place in the premises of IBBY Mexico, where we were welcomed by Cristina Vargas, one of the Coordinators, and Director Azucena Galindo. This meeting brought together the core members from Egypt and Mexico as well as new members from El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala and Nicaragua. We spoke about these different contexts, the challenges and the work that was being done by different organizations and communities and gathered ideas for moving forward within the Network. As well as having the meeting, we visited the library and other spaces in the beautiful house where IBBY Mexico is based, Casa de la Araucaria, and learned about their multiple activities.