AFAL's Planned Activities

From May 2007 to March 2008

1. Follow up of SAARC Translation Workshop Translation of Women's Fiction for an Anthology - its editing, and publication. Translations being done. Anthology will be out by August 2007.

2. Modern Poetry, primarily of young poets, from Bangladesh : Commissioned : Prof. Kaiser Haq Being done Will be out by October 2007.

3. SAARC POETRY FESTIVAL in Bhubaneshwar. Making sure that young Oriya poets participate in large number. After the two-day Festival, poets will be taken to Chilika Lake, Gopalpur-on-Sea, Konark, Jagannath Puri. Prof. Satchidanandan has been commissioned to coordinate and organise the Festival

4. Journal : 3 Issues - work continues around the year.

5. Website : work goes on throughout the year.

6. Preparations are on for :

A. YOUNG POETS FESTIVAL from Indian Punjab and Pakistani Punjab in Chandigarh / Shimla, in the first week of October, 2007. Prof. Deepak Manmohan Singh, Dean, Faculty of Languages, Punjab University, Chandigarh, has been commissioned to coordinate.
B. Young Bangla Poets Festival in Kolkata : Bangla Poets from Bangladesh and from West Bengal. Dr. Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay, who organized such a Festival in 2003 also, has been commissioned to organise this one too. He is on the job right now, corresponding with poets and contacting them over emails and telephone. About 15 young poets from both countries will stay together for 6 days, go around to various universities to read their poetry, will visit Shantiniketan, with concluding session in Sahitya Akademi, Kolkata.

7. Work is in progress for Conference on Buddhism in Dharamshala. Dr. Renuka Singh, JNU, has been commissioned to be the Chief Coordinator. She has asked His Holiness Dalai Lama when it will be convenient for him to open the Conference.

8. SAARC Writers Conference in Colombo : work is in progress.

9. SAARC - China Writers' Interaction : working on it. It will probably materialize in January 2008.