SPPU to host five-day PEN international congress

The 84th Congress will be held in Pune from September 25 to 29. Express Photo

The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) along with PEN International will host the 84th PEN International Congress in Pune from September 25 to 29. PEN International, an association of writers to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers worldwide, is hosting its 84th conference in India for the first time.

Globally known linguistic expert and the organiser of the Congress in Pune — Dr Ganesh Devy and SPPU Vice Chancellor Prof Nitin Karmalkar — addressed a press conference on Thursday to share the details. PEN was established in 1921 in London. The association works to promote freedom of expression, friendship and peace among writers. Littérateurs from over 100 countries are the members of this congress. The conference has never been held in India. It was decided to hold it in India this year to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who promoted peace and non-violence.

Several programmes have been organised during the five-day conference, in which various departments and affiliated college representatives will participate. Among the major events is the inauguration of a world language park (‘Bhasha van’) at the International Student Centre of SPPU, where writers from each country participating in the conference will plant a tree. As many as 400 writers and linguistic experts from 180 countries will participate in the event and a special session will be conducted on various global and Indian languages in 25 different educational institutes and colleges. A Bhasha ‘dindi’ will also be organised.