Bringing together 11 partners from nine European countries and associated partners in and outside Europe, the 2-year project Literary Europe Live Plus builds on previous activities of the Literature Across Frontiers platform with the aim of promoting a new vision for literary Europe that reflects recent demographic and socio-political changes and acknowledges the growing presence of refugees and immigrants, including refugee writers and artists.

The project will promote cross-cultural understanding and social cohesion through literary and arts activities. The turbulent times Europe is facing, marked by rise in populism and anti-immigration rhetoric, call for new narratives and creative encounters that address an urgent need for dialogue within polarised societies, and at the same time require new skills on the part of literary organisations.

Literary Europe Live Plus engages refugee writers and communities through a series of collaborative residencies, encounters and workshops. Writing by refugee authors and the new work emerging from the project will be showcased in partner festivals in and outside Europe, with the aim of contributing to changing perceptions about refugees and immigrants and reaching new audiences, especially youth.

The project also aims to provide the participating writers and artists with new skills and boost the capacities of partner organisations, enhancing their ability to work transnationally, gain a better understanding of cross-cultural curatorial practices, and adopt audience development methods based on inclusivity and recognition of diversity. The partners will explore ways in which skills transfers and collaborative working could increase the capacities of small teams, help them innovate their programming and reach audiences across Europe and beyond by exploring new models of live and digital dissemination of literary work, and share the project outcomes in wider forums to exchange ideas and methodologies, and advance policy debate in our sector.

Image: Literary Europe Live Plus, credit: Katel Delia