LAHORE: The thirteenth edition of the much-awaited Lahore Literary Festival on the theme of enlightenment with writers and scholars coming from twelve countries of the world would open at the Alhamra Art Centre on Friday (today).

This edition of the three-day litfest would open with the keynote address by historian Ayesha Jalal, t he aut hor o f t he Muslim E nlightened Thought in South Asia, and the Mar y Richardson Professor of History at Tufts University, US. Her address would be followed by a session on historical methodologies and historicalresources obtainedby histo-rians with input from Eduardo Manzano Moreno, Spanish historian specialising in Al-Andalus and Diana Darke, the Middle East cultural writer. BBC journalist Mishal Husain would chair the session.

Speaking to Dawn, Razi Ahmed, the chief executive officer of the LLF, says this edition of the litfest is featuring scholars from 12 countries besides Pakistan and the theme of this edition, enlightenment, is inspired by the book of Ayesha Jalal. He said the session after the keynote address would explore how literature and history intersected and how enlightenment could replace bigotry. `There would be sessions on Punjabi as well as Urdu writers and writing with poets like Iftikhar Arif and Fatima Hasan flying from Islamabad and Karachi, respectively. Besides, there would be an Urdu mushaira to keep the rich cultural tradition of Urdu literature alive to make it a wholesome experience for the people from all walks of life.

Razi Ahmed said a show on Pakistani architecture would focuson urban solutions vis-à-vis Lahore.

Four parallel sessions would be held from Friday till Sunday, he said and added that there would be other activities like a reading circle supported by the British Council.

Razi went on to say that since itsinception, the LLF had galvanized the young people into reading and increased their interest in our literary tradition, global voices as well as knowledge of other cultures and peoples to become more enlightenedand tolerant. Besides, he added, it also played a role in making Lahore as `the City of Literature` recognised by UNESCO.

When asked about the litfests happening in Lahore one after the other, he said every festival had its own importance and festivals happening back to back in Lahore did not affect the importance of any one of them.

BBC journalist Mishal Husain, art historians F.S. Aijazuddin and SusanStronge, French novelist Lyane Guillaume who has written a fictional book, Jahanara, on a daughter of Mughal emperor Shahjahan, would feature in another session.

The writers from different parts of the world are coming together toshare their experiences of immersing in key metropolises: Berlin, Athens and Lahore. They include Berlin-based David Wagner, writer of Lives and Four Apples among other works, Greece-based fictionwriter and host of podcast Athens Unpacked Sofka Zinovieff and Pakistani English language novelists Mohsin Hamid and Osama Siddique. Omar Shahid Hamid would be a part of the festival along with other Pakistan writers like Awais Khan.

Special discussions are scheduled on the environment with experts sharing their opinion on the muchtalked-about issue these days andthe topics would include feminist climate justice and sustainable living amid the climate crisis. A discussion will be held on the role of artists and activists regarding the climate crisis, featuring Nadia Jamil, Samiya Mumtaz and Abuzar Madhu, fighting a case of the Ravi river.

A session on how colonial violence alters visual objects, which in turn shapes how a society and culture relates to its own images will have Azza El-Hassan, a professor of media practices at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies. Azza from Palestine is also a documentary filmmaker. Hira Wasti Ahmed, founder and editor of Acacia Magazine, a New Print Magazine for the Muslim Left, would also be a part of this session.

This year`s schedule for the LLF include separate sessions on Punjabi literature with Punjabi writers and poets including Nain Sukh, Zubair Ahmed, Zahid Hasan, Sughra Sadaf and Rai Muhammad Nasir while Urdu literature sessions will include Iftikhar Arif, Nasir Abbas Nayyar,Fatima Hasan, Nomanul Haq, Rafaqat Hayat and Sheeba Alam. A discussion on women writers in Urdu literature will be a part of the festival with Noorul Huda Shah, Yasmeen Hammed, Neelum Ahmad Bashir and Sofia Baidar. A session on identity will feature Asghar Nadeem Syed and Sughra Sadaf.

The Urdu mushaira will be held with a select number of poets with Iftikhar Arif among the prominent ones along with Yasmeen Hameed and Abbas Tabish. Another session on women writers will have Feryal Gohar who would be a part of the discussion with international authors.

The pros and cons of AI will be discussed by international authors from the western world, including Fatimah Asghar and Jessica Bruder. There will be two separate sessions on Sri Lankan literature with the authors from the country. Portuguese author and journalist Teresa Nicolau would feature in the LLF in two sessions on separate days.