STORY: Abidjan Int'l Book Fair attracts over 30,000 visitors
SHOOTING TIME: May 17, 2024
DATELINE: May 18, 2024
LENGTH: 00:04:25
LOCATION: Abidjan
CATEGORY: CULTURE

SHOTLIST:
1. various of the book fair
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (French): ESTHER COULIBALY, Cote d'Ivoire writer
3. SOUNDBITE 2 (French): ANNIE COLY SANE, Senegalese writer
4. SOUNDBITE 3 (French): ANGE MARTIAL NOENIN, Visitor
5. various of the book fair

STORYLINE:

The International Book Fair of Abidjan (SILA), which is at its 14th edition under the theme of "the book, a bet always winning" was concluded in the economic capital of Cote d'Ivoire on Saturday. 

Many outstanding literary works and well-known writers gathered at the five-day event, attracting more than 30,000 visitors.

SOUNDBITE 1 (French): ESTHER COULIBALY, Cote d'Ivoire writer
"Knowledge is acquired through reading. You have to read and you have to read everything. I urge young people, this new generation full of strength, dynamism and courage to read.
Because reading books open the mind. The book allows you to travel and know many things. The book kills ignorance, because for me, ignorance is the man's greatest enemy."

SOUNDBITE 2 (French): ANNIE COLY SANE, Senegalese writer
"Cell phones and social media make you want to dig. But once we start looking seriously, we return to books.
The book is also a tool. It takes you on a journey. Thanks to books, I am fully immersed in Abidjan. I discover the customs. I discover good manners, culinary know-how, etc. In a word, we discover through the book. We must therefore never break with this chain of reading."

SOUNDBITE 3 (French): ANGE MARTIAL NOENIN, Visitor
"Culture is what we sow in the mind unlike agriculture which is what we sow in the soil.
To be a cultured person, you add up everything you have read. It is our reading that gives us the experience to be able to face all the challenges of the world.
So I invite everyone and parents to read because there is no age limit for reading. At any age, you can strengthen your reading and improve your general knowledge."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Abidjan.
(XHTV)