ah. On 18 August 2023, the Philippine Book Festival in Davao is where it was publicly declared: the Philippines will be Guest of Honor at the Frankfurt Book Fair 2025. This leaves two years to prepare the Philippines’ debut at the biggest book fair in the world. Meaning: many books from the Philippines are going to be translated into German. An exhibit in the central exhibition hall shall showcase the country and its literary and book culture. During the book fair, but also beforehand and afterwards, cultural programs will feature numerous events, exhibits, maybe even concerts and theatre performances. And who is organizing this? Various players: the Frankfurt Book Fair have their own staff in charge of the Guest of Honor performances. The Philippine side is coordinated by the National Book Development Board. Both organizations will consign tasks to third parties. And because a fair is a fair, anybody who wants to make a contribution can actually do so. For studiyo filipino, it is important that Philippine organizations from the D-A-CH countries can play an active part. What are the books you’d like to read in German? Who would you like to see perform on the local stage – in Vienna, Berlin and Zürich all the way to Frankfurt? #SeeYouInFrankfurt2025
studiyo filipino’s Annette witnessed the signing of the Frankfurt Book Fair’s Guest of Honor agreement in Davao (photo: ah)
