In 2024, the French Coalition for Cultural Diversity decided to honour the writer Fatou Diome, in recognition of her commitment to cultural diversity. The Coalition is also honouring Cartooning for Peace for its work in promoting cultural diversity and supporting gender equality through its ‘Dessine-moi l’égalité des genres’ project in the priority neighbourhoods of Vaulx-en-Velin.
Created in 1997, the French Coalition for Cultural Diversity brings together more than forty professional organisations from all cultural and creative sectors, including cinema, audiovisual, performing arts, publishing, music, graphic and plastic arts, etc. Together, they defend freedom of expression and creation, and the right of each State to define policies to support creation.
Through its Cultural Diversity Awards since 2011, the French Coalition rewards professional and artistic achievements and encourages good practice in defending and promoting cultural diversity.
Prize Ceremony of the French Coalition for Cultural Diversity – 12 December 2024
On 12 December 2024, in the salons of the SACD, Pascal Rogard, President of the French Coalition for Cultural Diversity, presented the 2024 Cultural Diversity Prize to the Franco-Senegalese writer Fatou Diome, author of the novel Le Ventre de l’Atlantique and Les veilleurs de Sangomar, in recognition of her work in favour of cultural diversity. The Coalition also awarded a prize to the Cartooning for Peace association for its ‘Dessine-moi l’égalité des genres’ project, which helps young people in the priority neighbourhoods of Vaulx-en-Velin to create an exhibition of press cartoons and exchange ideas with cartoonists.
In her speech, Fatou Diome stressed that free expression has become a major challenge in many parts of the world. In her view, the threat to cultural diversity is increasingly serious, because it calls into question the very essence of democratic and free societies. The author has poetically set a course for fraternity, the ideal towards which humanity should strive, while recognising that there are major obstacles in the way. Despite these difficulties, she urges everyone to remember that they are part of a fraternal humanity, and that solidarity must transcend cultural, ethnic and geographical differences. The diversity of languages and cultures, from Siam to California, is at the heart of her artistic work.
Kak (Patrick Lamassoure), President of Cartooning for Peace, pointed out that the keystone of the association’s actions is dialogue and freedom of expression. The schools in which it operates are ideal places to pass on these values and forge links with young people. He recalled Cartooning for Peace’s commitment to the plan to combat racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination in the town of Vaulx-en-Velin, which is committed to education for citizenship and freedom of the press. The mayor of Vaulx-en-Velin, Hélène Geoffroy, took the floor at the ceremony to pay tribute to the work carried out by Cartooning for Peace, which has involved more than 1,000 children in her town, encouraging everyone to imagine a more inclusive and harmonious society. She also praised the courage of cartoonists in the face of social and political tensions. For her, press cartoons are the necessary antibodies against the ills of our society.
Cartooning for Peace and the “Draw me Gender Equality” project with the City of Vaulx-en-Velin
Founded in 2006 by former UN Secretary-General and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kofi Annan and cartoonist Plantu, Cartooning for Peace works in the priority neighbourhoods of Vaulx-en-Velin as part of the Territorial Anti-Discrimination Plan.
For the 2023-2024 school year, the organisation launched its flagship project, “Draw me Gender Equality”. The project uses humour and creativity to tackle the challenges of gender inequality through an exhibition of international press cartoons. Written by Ghada Hatem, an obstetrician-gynaecologist and founder of the Maison des Femmes in Saint-Denis, the texts accompanying the exhibition shed a unique light on this theme. The project was rolled out in three leisure centres and four secondary schools, where the young participants have the opportunity to meet a press cartoonist to discuss the subjects presented and create their own cartoons.
The organisation’s activities focus on three main areas: promoting press cartoons as a powerful and universal means of expression; offering educational workshops that raise participants’ awareness of contemporary issues, using tools drawn from the cultural and artistic diversity of international press cartooning; offering support to cartoonists under threat and defending freedom of expression and artistic creativity.
For nearly 20 years, Cartooning for Peace has established itself as a key international network. Its commitment to human rights and mutual respect between people of different cultures and beliefs makes press cartoons a vehicle for dialogue and understanding, promoting values that are essential in today’s society.
Fatou Diome
Fatou Diome is a French-Senegalese writer who has made a major impact on the international literary scene with her works exploring immigration to France and the complex relationship between France and the African continent. Born in Senegal in 1968, she developed a passion for French-language literature at an early age and began writing at the age of 13. After leaving her village to study in Dakar, she moved to France at the age of twenty-two. In the early 2000s, after obtaining a doctorate, Fatou Diome became a teacher while publishing her first acclaimed works. Her autobiographical account of her dream of emigrating to France , Le Ventre de l’Atlantique (The Belly of the Atlantic), was a resounding success and was translated into some twenty languages. Since then, Fatou Diome has continued to make her mark with novels such as Kétala in 2006, Celles qui attendent in 2010 and Les veilleurs de Sangomar in 2019, which won her the Rotary Club Literary Prize. Her works, imbued with finesse and humanity, explore themes such as immigration, bereavement, relationships and the quest for identity.
In addition to her writing, Fatou Diome is also a committed voice, taking a stand on social issues. Her public appearances are opportunities to defend republican values, to plead for fairer cooperation between Europe and Africa, and to denounce the injustices and stereotypes that persist in international relations. A true spokesperson for the causes she defends in her novels, Fatou Diome has established herself as a major figure in contemporary French-language literature and an ambassador for cultural diversity.
