• Writers Vow to Build Bridges of Friendship among SAARC Nations


This is how the First-Ever SAARC Writers Conference organised by the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, was welcomed and hailed by the media and newspersons, artistes and literary scholars.

The Hon'ble President and Vice President of India, Former Prime Ministers, India's External Affairs Minister, Government Functionaries, Diplomats and Cultural Ambassadors, as well as Representatives of International Organizations like Ford Foundation and UNESCO participated in this Conference and creatively contributed to the concept of ideas without frontiers.

• UNESCO adopted this Conference as a "Flagship Event of the International Year for the Culture of Peace."

• The Conference was proclaimed as a unique meeting of creative literary minds from the South Asian Region with the objective of `Strengthening Cultural Ties for Long Lasting Peace in the Region'.

• The New Delhi Declaration, openly debated and discussed and unanimously adopted by the participating delegates, was envisioned as a document for ushering in peace and social justice in the region, through Writers' Exchange Programs, creation of Web-site reflecting the literary scene in the SAARC region, Publications of creative writings, a quarterly Literary Journal, Writers-in-Residence Programs, et al.

• The Hon'ble Vice President of India, Shri Krishan Kant created history by hosting an exclusive dinner in honour of the visiting writers at Hyderabad House, the exclusive venue of state receptions and dinners for the visiting heads of foreign countries. Such occasion had taken place only during the time of Pandit Nehru, who had hosted such a dinner for writers participating in the Afro-Asian Conference.

• All the major television networks and various media persons interviewed the visiting and participating Delegates. The BBC interviewed the Chairperson of the Academy, Ajeet Cour.

This first-ever SAARC Writers Conference, organized and hosted by the Academy of Fine Arts and Literature, was held in New Delhi from 28th to 30th April 2000. The theme of the Conference was "Writers, Peace and Culture of South Asia".

Twenty-nine distinguished writers and poets from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in this South Asian Literary and Creative Initiative. More than two hundred writers and poets of eminence from India, representing about twenty languages, attended and took active part in the Conference.