On the inaugural day of the latest edition of 5L – International Festival of Literature and Portuguese Language, marking the first occurrence without the artistic direction of José Pinho, the Lisbon Library Network is organizing a range of initiatives in schools, including workshops, storytelling sessions, and discussions centered on books.
The Palácio Galveias Library will also host a program celebrating World Portuguese Language Day, featuring the presentation of a Literary Revelation Prize UCCLA – Lisbon City Council, a “World Portuguese Language Day Tales” competition, and conversation tables addressing subjects such as literary residencies, literature education in schools, and how transforming a pleasure into an obligation might deter young people from reading. Additionally, a didactic reading guide will be presented.
The festival itself will take place from Friday to Sunday and will, for the first time, occupy the Beato’s center for innovation and entrepreneurship, known as the Beato Creative Hub, renamed last year as ‘Beato Innovation District.’ This venue aims to promote literature and the Portuguese language.
Organized by the Lisbon Library Network, the 5L festival presents an “eclectic program” that explores the interaction between Language, Literature, and Innovation, aiming to address the issues posed by new technologies in the fields of communication and the written word.
This year, curators specialized in the festival’s three main programmatic lines were selected: Catarina Magro (Language), Carlos Vaz Marques (Literature), and Jorge Amorim (Cognitive Science and Artificial Intelligence).
Key highlights include the presence of writers Amin Maalouf, Paul Lynch, and Juan Villoro, along with discussions on threats to democracies and the challenges posed by Artificial Intelligence, which will feature in various debate panels.
American librarian and curator Tracie Hall, an arts advocate awarded the Franklin D. Roosevelt Institute’s Medal for Freedom of Expression in 2023, is among the guests and will deliver a lecture titled “Disinformation, Book Censorship, and the End of Democracy.”
The event will also feature numerous discussions on language and linguistics led by experts, alongside musical and multimedia performances, concerts, exhibitions, and DJ sets. The complete program for the 5L festival is available at https://lisboa5l.pt/.
