Nobel Peace Prize nominee Jaha Dukureh will share her message with the Malta Festival audience. Author Orhan Pamuk will first attend an opera based on his most famous book at the Grand Theatre, followed by a meeting with festival participants. Malta Festival will also feature interpretations of works by Wisława Szymborska and John Maxwell Coetzee.

Jaha Dukureh is coming to the Malta Festival. Born in the Gambia, the activist underwent female genital mutilation at just a few days old. After moving to New York, Dukureh became involved in combating mass mutilation of girls through her organization Safe Hands for Girls. Her efforts led to the eventual banning of such practices in the Gambia. In 2016, Dukureh was listed in Time 100, which highlights the 100 most influential people in the world. In 2018, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and was appointed as a UN Women Ambassador in Africa. On September 7, Jaha will arrive for the inauguration of Malta Festival 2024, where she will deliver a speech to all attendees.

The activist will also participate in the discussion panel “Witches of the World,” which will take place at the Festival Center immediately after the opening ceremony. Joining Jaha Dukureh will be Amanda Edmiston, a Scottish herbalist researching the properties of herbs and founder of Botanica Fabula, an initiative that tells stories through the lens of human-plant relationships. Michael Ostling, a Ph.D. in religious studies and lecturer at Arizona State University, who professionally explores the topic of magic and witches and edits the journal “Magic, Ritual, and Witchcraft,” will also speak. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Anna Jankowiak, an archaeologist, scientist, publicist, and blogger, who seeks contemporary references to ancient cultural practices in her work.

The novel “My Name is Red” (Turkish: “Benim Adım Kırmızı”) was published in 1998. Thanks to this work, Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk gained international fame and was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. This monumental piece became the basis for “I, Şeküre.” The opera, written and composed by Aleksander Nowak, can be admired on September 7 at the Stanisław Moniuszko Grand Theatre. The central part of this performance will be the libretto written by the composer, who boasts accolades such as the Fryderyk Award and the Paszport Polityki Award. In the past, Nowak’s librettos have been penned by Olga Tokarczuk, Georgi Gospodinov, Szczepan Twardoch, Radek Rak, and Marcin Wicha. The following day, at the Malta Festival Center, there will be a meeting with Orhan Pamuk, hosted by journalist Michał Nogaś.

Another Nobel-related highlight in the Malta Festival program is the Poetry Evening initiated by the Wisława Szymborska Foundation. The event at the Polish Dance Theatre will focus on the work of the Polish Nobel laureate. It will start with a discussion featuring Agata Jabłońska, Ilona Witkowska, Katarzyna Szweda, and Maciej Bobula – three poets and one poet nominated for the Wisława Szymborska Award. The discussion will be moderated by literary scholar Patryk Szaj. In the second part of the event, the invited guests will read selected works by Szymborska. Musical accompaniment will be provided by Malwina Paszek.

It is also worth noting another Nobel-related event in the Malta Festival program. On Saturday, September 14, at the Stanisław Moniuszko Grand Theatre, “Elizabeth Costello | J. M. Coetzee,” directed by Krzysztof Warlikowski, will be performed. The play focuses on a character created by Coetzee, the South African Nobel laureate who was honored with the award in 2003. This production by Nowy Teatr in Warsaw is based on the novel titled after the protagonist and includes fragments from other works by Coetzee.

Malta Festival 2024 will take place in Poznań from September 7-15. Tickets for selected events are already on sale. All necessary information can be found on the website malta-festival.pl.