Illustrations from Norwegian Children’s Books on Display in Beijing
Norway’s Minister of Culture and Equality, Lubna Jaffery, visited China at the end of May. The delegation also included authors Kristin Roskifte and Simon Stranger, as well as NORLA’s Literary Coordinator, Andrine Pollen. An exhibition of illustrations from Norwegian children’s books was presented at the residence of the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing.
Lubna Jaffery signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cultural exchange and cultural exports between Norway and China.
An exhibition of illustrations from Norwegian children’s books was presented at the residence of the Norwegian Embassy in Beijing. The exhibition was based on Norway’s Guest of Honour exhibition at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in April and featured one work by each of the 49 illustrators from Norway represented there.
Andrine Pollen from NORLA moderated a panel discussion with authors Simon Stranger and Kristin Roskifte, together with Li Jing Jing, who teaches Norwegian language and literature at Beijing Foreign Studies University. The theme of the discussion was Norwegian Children’s Literature – From a Small Country to the Big World.
Simon Stranger launched the Chinese edition of his humorous four-volume world history for children, Kokotopia. The programme included a visit to a primary school, where he spoke to both children and adults about his work as an author. He also launched Keep saying their names at a bookstore event that included a live podcast recording.
Kristin Roskifte presented Everybody Counts at a bookstore event. To mark the occasion, the publisher had produced stickers and a special Rubik’s Cube featuring illustrations from the book, much to the delight of both children and adults.
On 31 May, Minister of Culture and Equality Lubna Jaffery opened a literary event at the impressive Beijing Library, designed by the Norwegian-founded international architecture firm Snøhetta.
