Environment Ministry and Central Bank Promote Environmental Projects in Upper Basin of Ozama River

Environment Ministry and Central Bank Promote Environmental Projects in Upper Basin of Ozama River
Santo Domingo, May 5 2015

The Dominican Republic was announced as the Country Guest of Honor and it will be dedicated to Poet Salomé Ureña de Henríquez.

After an intense cultural activity, the Eighteenth edition of the International Book Fair Santo Domingo 2015 (FILRD2015) concluded on Monday with a ceremony chaired by the Minister of Culture, José Antonio Rodríguez. Rodríguez announced that the next edition will be dedicated to Poet Salomé Ureña de Henríquez, and that the Dominican Republic will be the Country Guest of Honor.

After making the announcement that the Dominican Republic will be the Country Guest of Honor, Minister Rodríguez explained that the event will be organized with an eye kept on the diaspora of this country.

During his closing remarks, the official stressed the support given to the fair by the media, publishers, bookstore owners and by national and foreign authors. He also had words of appreciation for the participation of the Peruvian delegation in this activity, indicating that: “it brought us 41 publishing houses and 15 authors, that, coupled with other actions and expressions of its ancient culture, has set precedents worthy of being replicated during future celebrations of this international fair.”

But, in particular, he said that the leading actors of the success of the fair were those who heeded the call and participated in the activity, in which 97 books, 42 of them published by the Ministry of Culture, were released to the public.

Besides Minister Rodríguez, the closing ceremony was attended by the Deputy Minister of Creativity and Coordinator of the Entertainment, Tommy García; Carlos Santos, Deputy Minister of Institutional Development; Valentin Amaro, Director of Books and Reading; Pedro Antonio Valdez, Executive Director of the Book Fair; His Eminence Most Reverend Monsignor Jude Thaddeus Okolo; Peru’s Ambassador to the Dominican Republic, Enrique Palacios Reyes; other personalities and the general public.

The activity began with the presentation of a documentary film presenting the views of intellectuals and bookstore owners assessing the quality and diversity of the cultural event, which is held every year in the Plaza de la Cultura Juan Pablo Duarte.

The Ambassador of Peru, Enrique Palacios Reyes, also spoke during the closing ceremony. He described the trials and joys that the eleven days of the fair produced in him, while, at the same time, he reflected on the quality of the 15 Peruvian authors and publishers who participated in the fair.

He took the opportunity to congratulate the President of the Republic, Danilo Medina, for the revolution he has triggered by building schools and establishing the extended school days. This, he said, will pay off in the coming years, as there will be great writers, essayists and poets.

Then, the Executive Director of the fair, Pedro Antonio Valdez, praised the turnout and the sale of books, as related by the book stand owners through videos that were broadcasted during the ceremony.

He said that, next to the start of the school season, it is during this great literary event that more books are sold, which explains the need for its existence, as an event that is financed and supported by the Dominican people.

Francis Santos was recognized during the ceremony for being the most outstanding attendee during the eleven days of the fair. The Océano International publishing house was also recognized for having the best stand of Dominican exhibitors, as well as the Cuesta, Mateca and El Poeta bookstores. Writer Pedro Antonio Valdez spoke on behalf of the Directorate of the Book Fair. He praised the participation of authors, publishers and the general public during the eleven days of the fair; the Director of Books and Reading, Valentín Amaro, highlighted the active participation of the authors and their connection with their readers.

The closing ceremony, in which the coordinators and partners of the event participated, was held in the Juan Bosch hall of the Pedro Enriquez Ureña National Library. Minister Rodríguez said about them: “these are people who worked every day directly so that the fair could achieve the goal of being a cultural, literary and, above all, educational space.”

The organizers of the 18th International Book Fair issued a special recognition on the 50th anniversary of the April Revolution of 1965, and adopted recycling as the general theme at the Plaza de la Cultura.

This edition of the fair was dedicated to the poet and musician Manuel Rueda, and the Country Guest of Honor was the Republic of Peru. New undertakings that pleased the public, such as the Dominican Pavilion of Communications and the Bachata Pavilion, among others, are already expected to be emulated in future editions of the fair.

According to what was explained during the closing ceremony, 97 books by national and foreign authors, 42 of them published by the Ministry of Culture as part of its support for our writers, and for the promotion of reading and the book industry, were release to the public. 4.5 million pesos were presented to teachers, outstanding students and members of literary workshops through the BonoCultura program of the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Education.

In the literary event, some 430 publishers, 209 bookstores and 630 Dominican authors participated with their respective stands and other means of integration. Some 16 pavilion-type spaces became operational during the fair, among which the one dedicated to Manuel Rueda stood out. The legacy, life and work of the famous writer, researcher and Dominican musician were exhibited in it. 360 workshops, seminars, lectures and conferences took place before the impressive attendance of hundreds of young people that were restless, eager to learn, and who came to the fair to cultivate their intellect.

Photos

Civil and military authorities at the closing ceremony of the FILRD2015.

Pedro Antonio Valdez, Executive Director of the Book Fair.

José Antonio Rodríguez, Minister of Culture.

José Antonio Rodríguez, Minister of Culture.

Attendees at the closing ceremony of the FILRD2015.

Recognition to the organizers.

Francis Santos was recognized for being the most outstanding attendee during the eleven days of the fair.