On 12 December 2024, in the salons of the SACD, Pascal Rogard, president of the French Coalition for Cultural Diversity, presented the 2024 cultural diversity prize to Franco-Senegalese writer Fatou Diome, author of the novel Le Ventre de l’Atlantique and Veilleurs de Sangomar, among others, in recognition of her lifelong commitment to cultural diversity. The Coalition also honoured the association Cartooning for Peace for its project ‘Draw me gender equality’, which supports young people from priority neighbourhoods in the city of Vaulx-en-Velin in creating an exhibition of press cartoons and interacting with cartoonists.
In her speech, Fatou Diome emphasised that free expression has become a major challenge in many parts of the world. In her view, the threat to cultural diversity is increasingly serious, as it calls into question the very essence of democratic and free societies. The author has poetically set a course for fraternity, an ideal towards which humanity should strive, while recognising that major obstacles prevent it from being achieved. Despite these difficulties, she calls on everyone to remember that they are part of a fraternal humanity, and that solidarity must transcend cultural, ethnic and geographical differences. The diversity of languages and cultures, from Siam to California, is at the heart of his artistic work.
Kak (Patrick Lamassoure), president of Cartooning for Peace, reiterated that the keystone of the association’s actions is based on dialogue and freedom of expression. The schools in which it is deployed are ideal places for transmitting these values and forging links with young people. He recalled the commitment of Cartooning for Peace to the fight against racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination in the city of Vaulx-en-Velin, a municipality committed to education for citizenship and freedom of the press. The mayor of the commune, Hélène Geoffroy, took the floor during the ceremony to salute the actions carried out by Cartooning for Peace, which involved more than 1,000 children in her town, encouraging each one to imagine a more inclusive and harmonious society. She also saluted the courage of the cartoonists in the face of social and political tensions. For her, press cartoons are the antiodies necessary against the ills of our society.