Dakar, Senegal — October 16, 2025: The Doudou Ndiaye Coumba Rose Grand National Theatre in Dakar hosted the opening of the first National Forum on Books and Reading (FNLL), a landmark event dedicated to promoting literacy, culture, and national identity through literature.

Presiding over the ceremony, President Bassirou Diomaye Faye underscored the transformative power of books as tools of freedom and national progress.

“This morning, I presided over the opening of the National Forum on Books and Reading, a space for dialogue and for refounding our cultural policy,” wrote President Faye. “The book does not only instruct: it liberates, inspires, and shapes the aspirations of peoples as well as the ideals of Nations. It remains an essential instrument for building the sovereign, just, and prosperous Senegal that we want.”

Held under the high patronage of the President, the forum’s theme, “Education through books for enlightened sovereignty”, reflects Senegal’s renewed commitment to fostering a culture of reading as a foundation for intellectual, social, and cultural development.

Sponsored by the celebrated writer Cheikh Hamidou Kane, the initiative aligns with the Senegal 2050 Vision, which recognises culture as a strategic pillar for civic responsibility and sustainable national growth.

The National Forum on Books and Reading marks a new chapter in Senegal’s cultural policy — one that positions literature at the heart of its journey toward an enlightened and self-reliant future.