Crossing Boundaries

London – a city of many cultures – provided the early inspiration for the theme of this congress.  Within this one vibrant city, communities from Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East, China, Greece and Latin America have made their home.  And so it is in cities and countries all over the world.  People and cultures migrate, travel and resettle and with them go their stories.  The old traditional stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, as well as the new stories that they have created on their journeys. 

In the 2012 congress, we will explore how books and stories for children and young people can cross boundaries and migrate across different countries and cultures. The congress will look at issues such globalisation, dual-language texts, cultural exchange and the art of translation and we will explore how literature for children migrates and translates in all its forms.

Programme Content

The congress programme will include plenary sessions with keynote speakers and a variety of seminars and workshops exploring different facets of the main congress theme. In addition, the congress will play host to the IBBY General Assembly and to the presentation of the IBBY Honour List, the IBBY Asahi Reading Promotion Award and the Hans Christian Andersen Awards. There will also be the opportunity to meet colleagues at professional meetings.  The official congress language will be English. A simultaneous translation service will be provided into Spanish and other languages wherever possible.

Pre- and POST- Congress Tours

Pre- and post- Congress tours will be available to book online shortly through our partners GTI tours. These will range from half day to three day tours taking in sites of special interest to our delegates as well as general interest tours.