KATHMANDU, Nov 17: Alliance Française de Kathmandu’s fourth edition of “PLANET NEPAL” a festival that integrates art with contemporary environmental issues envisions to give space to artists of International and Nepali community to proactively raise mass awareness on the theme ‘Zero Tolerance for the Illegal Wildlife Trade’ – embraced by Alliance Française and the French Embassy for 2016.
The program envisions indulging kids as well as adults by creating a committed community about environmental issues. It doesn’t only aim to increase environmental awareness but engages the audience to take action on the issues. Enhancing artistic production on such topics has been the other goal of the event.
Charlotte Tassel, communication manager at Alliance Française de Kathmandu says,
“Environmental issues are the heart of Planet Nepal. The environmental area such as pollution, water, and the protection of nature can no longer be forgotten.
The Alliance Française of Kathmandu and the French Embassy have a desire to create an exchange between artists, experts and the public. This is why Planet Nepal, the only multidisciplinary arts and environment festival in Nepal, exists since 2010. This festival has two goals: to both educate and entertain. One does not go without the other. Today educating future generations is the duty of everyone. We are very focused in children activities. The presence of experts and artists is important to suggest a real change in our way of life.”
The program will be scheduled for two days: November 18 and 19 at Jawalakhel Football Ground, Lalitpur. The football ground hosts almost all of the activities. In the first day of the program, children activities like visit to the zoo for animal feeding and birds’ presentation, paintings, workshops, animal themed mehendi art, face paintings, games and wildlife quiz will take place.
Fairs and festival fervor in Far-west hills
The main stage will host school performance, drama, Concerts of Kwal and Chan Chan – French Bands and The Triples, a Nepali Band. The second day of the program will have expression wall among other children activities and the main stage will entertain Movie Screening of Ghost of Terai, Photo Contest and Concert of 1974 AD among others.
The event will also have screenings, exhibitions, food and drink stalls, children activities, face painting, AFK stall and fairground games on both days.
The screenings and conservation talks will be done in English. Except the entrance cost at the zoo, all the other events at Jawalakhel Football Ground are free and open to all.
The launch of La.Lit’s Green issue
La.Lit’s Green Issue will be launched at 5:00 pm today in collaboration with Planet Nepal, organized by Alliance Française de Kathmandu at the Jawalakhel Grounds from 18-19 November 2016. Kunda Dixit, editor/publisher of the Nepali Times, will be speaking at the event.
Founded over four years ago in 2013, La.Lit was introduced in Nepal to provide a platform for Nepali writers both in the local scene as well as talent from overseas. With a strong focus on translation, La.Lit ensures that the ethnic languages too find a voice in the Nepali literature scene.
Over the recent years, it has been focusing more on thematic issues. The fifth issue of La.Lit shed light on visual arts, the sixth represented short stories and the seventh; the newest to be launched, shall focus on the green issue.
This edition will have a range of articles from writers all over Nepal and overseas regarding the rural problems of Nepal.
La.Lit has been unwavering in its mission to build a reading-writing culture over the years and succeeding without much media coverage. The objective of the seventh edition of La.Lit magazine is to make people consider their relationship with the environment.
According to Rabi Thapa, editor of La.Lit magazine, majority of Nepalis in the urban scene hardly find time to interact with nature.
The compelling and beautiful stories in this edition of La.Lit aim to make people reconsider this and attempt to connect more.
The eighth edition, however, will focus on translation of ethnic languages, and Manjushree Thapa will be one of the guest editors.
