The annual Ubud Writers and Readers Festival launched its full program Wednesday, Aug. 16, ahead of the October event with a speaker list including some of the top names in the arts from around the world.
The 2017 event is the festival’s most diverse yet, organisers said in a statement to Indonesia Expat, with authors, artists and activists from 31 countries attending.
“The five-day program of impassioned in-conversations, intimate literary lunches and powerful live performances promises a world of stories, ideas and solutions at a time when amplifying diverse voices is more critical than ever,” organisers said.
Andreas Harsono, Human Rights Watch’s Indonesia monitor, Herb Feith Foundation Human Rights Education Award recipient Putu Oka Sukanta, journalist and armed conflict mediator Michael Vatikiotis and Bloomberg journalist Nisid Hajaria are all set to take on the big issues in the region.
The literary-minded will be treated to some of the biggest names in Indonesia and the region including Leila Chudori, Seno Gumira Ajidarma and poet Joko Pinurbo. Fans of the smash hit film Lion can hear from Saroo Brierley whose memoir was adapted.
Thousands of guests descend on the festival each year, keen to take part in one of the region’s most well-known festivals. Launched in 2002 by Janet DeNeefe, co-founder of not-for-profit foundation Yayasan Mudra Swari Saraswati, it is the major project for the foundation each year.