In his annual address on the occasion of Sant Jordi, the President of the Catalan Government, Carles Puigdemont, highlighted the country’s literary strength largely thanks to those who “kept the flame of Catalan culture and language alive”, especially in “difficult times”. When editing Catalan books “was an economic and personal risk” and printing them had to be done in secret, hiding from the “political heirs who for decades persecuted Catalan culture”, explained the President.

 

From the Palau de la Generalitat’s Gothic Gallery, Puigdemont wished all Catalans a happy Saint George’s Day and announced the Government of Catalonia’s intention, in collaboration with the Catalan Chamber of Books, to establish the Day of Sant Jordi as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.

 

The President also celebrated the role of authors, editors as well as the Catalan writers’ guild and their success at placing Catalonia among one of the leading territories in Europe in terms of literary production, noting the country’s presence as the Guest of Honour at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair.