Des de 1922, defensem la llibertat d'expressió i els drets lingüístics, salvaguardem el patrimoni literari català i promovem el diàleg intercultural.
Since 2006, PEN Català has coordinated the Writers In Refuge Programme. This programme, with its roots in the Shelter Cities programme which was promoted by the International Parliament of Writers, aims to host a writer who is threatened, persecuted or at risk of being imprisoned as a consequence of their writing.
PEN Català promotes literary translation to overcome the linguistic barrier that prevents understanding between people and cultures. It works for both the promotion of Catalan literature in the world and to support the translation of universal literary works into Catalan. It is within this framework that the digital magazine Visat is published.
PEN is committed to the respect of all languages, and the protection and promotion of minority languages. PEN's central and guiding principles on linguistic rights are laid out in the Girona Manifesto, promoted by PEN Català.
PEN Català monitors human rights violations against writers, editors, translators and journalists around the world and organises campaigns to support them.
You can become a full member if you are a writer in any field, journalist, editor or translator and share the founding values of PEN.
If you are not a writer and want to join the defense of languages and freedom of expression, you can be part of the Circle of Friends of PEN.
Help us continue to defend language and freedom of expression.
Sí! El nostre web s'adapta a dispositius mòbils, però encara està en desenvolupament. Per veure-la ara correctament, consulta-la des d'una mida de pantalla major de 1100px ; )
Born in Dadouar, Chad, Koulsy Lamko has a Doctorate in Literature from the Univerty of Limoges (France) and a Master’s degree in Modern Languages from the University of Ouagadogou (Burkina Faso). Civil war led Lamko to leave his country in 1979 for Burkina Faso. He dedicated himself to the promotion of community theatre in Burkina Faso, through the Theatre of the Community, and was involved in the founding of the International Festival of Theatre for Development. He moved to Rwanda, where he founded the University’s Centre for the Arts and Theatre, and taught drama and creative writing. His experience in Rwanda led him to write his novel ‘La phalène des collines’ (The Butterfly of the Hills) about the 1994 genocide.
In 2003 he arrived in Mexico as a guest of the Citlaltépetl Refuge House and since 2009 Mexico City’s federal government, bolstered by Lamko, opened the refuge house for African journalists and writers. He has been a teacher in a number of Universities: Iberoamerican University of Mexico, Autonomous University of Hidalgo State and the Autonomous University of Mexico. He has lived in different countries around the world promoting theatre and a better understanding of Africa from a humanitarian and literary viewpoint.