Ukraine’s participation in the Jakarta International Literary Festival
From November 27 to December 1, 2024, the Jakarta International Literary Festival (JILF) was held in Jakarta, Indonesia, and for the first time in history, Ukrainian writer and poet Kateryna Kalytko participated. The theme of the 2024 festival was “Environmental Crisis and Its Connection with Nature,” which allowed participants to discuss the pressing issues of the environmental crisis through literature.
This festival became a good platform for introducing to the Indonesian audience not only Ukrainian literature but also Ukrainian realities.
As part of the festival, Kateryna Kalytko participated in three events:
- A discussion on the topic “On Eco-Literature” where the poetess, together with other writers, had the opportunity to delve into existing environmental problems and reflect on ways to solve them, as well as the role of literature in this issue.
- A discussion on the topic “Relentless Battles” in which the Ukrainian poetess could talk about life in Ukraine during the war and the challenges facing the Ukrainian nation.
- A literary evening, where Kateryna read her poetic works.
In addition to the central part, namely the panel discussions, the participants had an opportunity to visit the book fair and the media exhibition in the S.Sudjojono and Emiria Soenassa galleries, which were open throughout the festival.
The festival was also attended by the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Indonesia, Vasyl Hamyanin, and the Minister of Education and Culture of Indonesia, Fadli Zon.
The participation of the Ukrainian author was supported by the International Renaissance Foundation with the assistance of the Cultural Diplomacy Foundation.
The Jakarta International Literary Festival (JILF) is an annual literary festival held in Jakarta, Indonesia. The festival aims to promote Indonesian literature on international literary platforms, as well as to create a platform for inviting foreign writers and their creative dialogue with Indonesian writers. JILF was held for the first time in 2019.
