Hay Festival Mexico D.F. is designed as an accessible and inclusive event with an interactive focus that values the participation of audiences through talks, debates and workshops. This is the first edition to be held following the success of the three previous Mexican editions of Hay Festival of Literature and the Arts in Zacatecas (2010) and Xalapa (2011 and 2012).
The festival’s format is designed to be innovative and features a general programme of events for actual audiences and a digital programme broadcast by BBC World. The general programme includes thirty events involving writers, journalists and international figures, as well as meetings with university students and students from the city’s outlying districts.
The digital programme includes the live broadcasting of all the events through BBC World, which has more than 20 million viewers. It also features live interviews with authors and debates.
The main themes of the programme are:
Writers from around the world: Talks and debates by acclaimed writers from countries such as Spain, the UK, France, the United States and Poland; and prominent figures from the world of cinema, journalism and science.
Freedom of expression and journalism: Journalists and prominent people from several countries, such as Roberto Saviano, Maziar Bahari and Gael García Bernal, speak about freedom of expression.
4th publishing talent meeting: A space for reflection and debate on the publishing world, with a strong Spanish presence.
Mexico 2.0.: The authors selected for Mexico 2.0 take part in talks for students and in the general programme.
The project is thus designed as a space for debate and exchange of ideas. It encourages interaction between actual guest audiences and virtual audiences, and the actual events are expected to be attended by some 10,000 people.
AC/E is collaborating by supporting the participation of five Spanish writers in the actual programme (Nuria Barrios, Mercedes Abad, José Ovejero, Andrés Ibáñez and Javier Moro) and four publishers in the 4th publishing talent meeting (Raquel Garrido, from APILA ediciones; Jesús Egido, from Reino de Cordelia and Rey Lear; Beatriz García Dorado from Traficantes de sueños; and Daniel Moreno, from Capitán Swing).
