On Wednesday the director of the Institut Ramon Llull, Josep Bargalló, appeared before the Cultural Policy committee of the Catalan parliament to give details about the participation of Catalan culture as Guest of Honour at the 2007 Frankfurt Book Fair.

Josep Bargalló at the parliament.

Josep Bargalló stressed three main objectives for the Frankfurt Fair: "To highlight the strength of the Catalan cultural industry and the leading role it plays; to increase knowledge and recognition of Catalan culture throughout the world and promote the translation of literary works into other languages; and to promote the internationalisation of Catalan culture through its territorial diversity".

In this latter respect he stressed something that is a distinguishing feature of Catalan culture: the fact that everywhere where it is spoken it coexists with other languages, such as Spanish, French, Italian or Sardinian. "We can contribute our experience of how several languages can coexist to create a single society", he declared.

Bargalló explained that, as part of the Frankfurt 2007 project, 69 German cities have already confirmed the organization of activities to promote Catalan culture. Furthermore, in the run-up to the Frankfurt Book Fair, many activities have been organised in Germany and elsewhere, and Catalan culture will be represented at a number of international festivals and book fairs. All in all, Bargalló assured MPs, this represented "one more step on a long journey which must be given continuity in the future with the international promotion of our culture".

The director of the Institut Ramon Llull ended by requesting involvement in this shared project, which he considered important for our culture and self-respect.