The Islamabad Literature Festival (ILF) was launched in April 2013 and has been a resounding success right from the start. Inspired by the Karachi Literature Festival (KLF), the Children’s Literature Festival (CLF) was launched at the end of 2011. The momentum begun in Pakistan with the KLF led not only to the CLF but also to the Lahore and Islamabad Literature Festivals (LLF, ILF), both launched in 2013, and the Teachers’ Literature Festival (TLF) which was launched in 2014. This momentum reflects the depth of our historical literary and cultural roots, and the great desire and energy in Pakistan— irrespective of the city in which the Festival is held—to seek knowledge, understanding, and creative growth.
ILFs Mission:
ILF seeks to create an intellectual space in which the diversity and pluralism in Pakistan’s society and this is expressed by the authors from literary and cultural traditions beyond Pakistan’s borders are freely accessible to people in an open and participatory manner.
ILF Objectives:
• To represent intellectual traditions and cultural diversity through languages and academic disciplines.
• To create a forum for intellectual dialogue and inter-cultural harmony through celebration of writing, publications, and performing arts.
• To provide opportunities through which the world can see and connect with the literature, culture, and social ethos of Pakistan, and from which Pakistan can encounter what is happening in the world.
• To promote artistic expression and emerging Pakistani and international literary talent
• To encourage counter narratives, cross-pollination of ideas, and apolitical views
• To reclaim public space in Karachi for literary and cultural exchanges