The closing days of phase one of Livres des deux rives - un dialogue méditerranéen par le livre were held in Paris on 12 and 13 June 2023. They provided an opportunity for those involved in the project to look back over the actions carried out over the last two years. The discussions were illustrated live by the cartoonist Nadia Khiari, alias Willis from Tunis. 

To open the closing event, the publishers in attendance were welcomed by Renaud Lefebvre, Director General of the Syndicat national de l'édition, accompanied by Laurence Faron, co-chair of the youth commission, and Solène Chabanais, chair of the international commission. It was an opportunity to exchange views on book distribution, the challenges of transfers and translation, and the structuring of publishing exchanges between the northern and southern shores of the Mediterranean. 

Presentations of all the books supported by the Livres des deux rives publishing fund also featured over the two days. All participants expressed the wish to see the trans-Mediterranean library expand in 2024! 

Several workshops allowed the professionals in attendance to discuss their common problems and their desire for sharing knowledge of the stakeholders and publishing landscapes. 

Hosted by the Société des gens de lettres at the Hôtel de Massa in Paris, these two days provided an opportunity to bring together a network of professionals involved in the Livres des deux rives project, to initiate joint projects and to look ahead to the next phase of the project in 2024. 

The second day was devoted to discussions in a workshop format. Organised into small groups In the gardens of the Hôtel de Massa, participants were able to discuss the challenges of translation between Arabic and French (content, flows, translators) and how to strengthen the transfer of rights and publishing exchanges between France, the Maghreb and the Mashriq. 

Under the watchful eye of Nadia Khiari, aka Willis from Tunis, these workshops gave publishing industry stakeholders the opportunity to present the specific features of the book markets in their countries. A couple of quotes to illustrate the point: 

"When you translate, you have to be aware of who you are talking to" - Walid Soliman, translator, Tunisia. 

"It is by breaking down prejudices and prerogatives that we can work more harmoniously" - Marie Desmeures, publisher, Denoël. 

The 2 closing days were also an opportunity to present the project deliverables. These included the Pensées arabes en traduction (Arab Thought in Translation) catalogue, part of the Translation project run by the Atlas association, which contains 31 entries for major works in the humanities and social sciences to be translated from Arabic. The catalogue is coordinated by Sadia Agsous-Bienstein, Nisrine Al-Zahre, Pierre Girard and Franck Mermier. 

Three other deliverables were also produced during the project and presented during the two day event: a study of training in the book trade in Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon and Egypt; a map of the stakeholders in these five countries; and a series of videos featuring project stakeholders. 

Participants were welcomed at a reception held at the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs by Valérie Brisset, Deputy Director of Influential Diplomacy. Together with Eva Nguyen Binh, President of the Institut français, and Karim Amellal, Ambassador and Interministerial Delegate for the Mediterranean, they were able to testify to the importance of the actions implemented during this two year flagship project for the Summit of the Two Shores, and to reiterate their support for editorial, translational and cultural exchange to strengthen dialogue between civil societies on both sides of the Mediterranean.