After 10 months of training, mentoring and development, the 9 original comic books produced as part of the First BDPALOP Competition in Mozambique, Angola and Cape Verde will be presented to the Mozambican public for the first time.

The event closes the first cycle of this initiative and invites the public to learn about the various stages of the creative process and the production of books in this genre, which aims to encourage reading, especially among younger audiences.

The event will take place on June 13, between 2pm and 7pm, at the Camões - Portuguese Cultural Center in Maputo, and will feature the launch of the 9 BDPALOP works, a round table with the authors of the comics "Bonga" and "Torre Nova", sales and autograph sessions, musical moments with May Mbira, and a screening of award-winning animated short films including the recently nominated for the 2023 Oscars "Ice Merchants" by João Gonzalez, courtesy of the Cola cooperative and Cine Mundo. There will also be a Q&A session with Bruno Caetano, producer of the films presented.

BDPALOP, with the support of the Kulungwana Association, will also be holding a Comic Strip workshop led by Jorge Caetano Fernandes and Hélio Januário, in the areas of storytelling and illustration, available only to participants who register by June 7 by emailing info@bdpalop.com.

On the BDPALOP platform, it will be possible to buy the works online, in physical or digital format, follow news from the PALOP creative industries, and find out more about the annual competition and the artists involved.

This will also be a space for announcing new partnerships with the aim of establishing links between artists, publishers, bookstores and comic book cultural agents in the PALOP, Portugal and Brazil, guaranteeing the sustainability of the initiative.

The authors of the works launched during the event were selected in 2022 during BDPALOP's first competition, having benefited from a literary creation grant of 5,000 euros, training and mentoring sessions facilitated by comics experts.

BDPALOP is an initiative for the creation, dissemination and publication of comics, developed with the aim of strengthening this value chain and encouraging reading in the PALOP countries. This initiative is part of the PROCULTURA PALOP-TL program funded by the European Union and co-financed and managed by Camões - Institute for Cooperation and Language, with operational partners Estúdio Criativo Anima in Mozambique, BOMCOMIX ESTÚDIOS in Angola, Jovem Tudo - Revista Colaborativa in Cape Verde and A Seita in Portugal.

In the coming years, BDPALOP aims to position itself as an international reference in the dissemination and production of quality comics in Africa, and particularly in Portuguese-speaking African countries, ensuring that artists and professionals in the medium have access to more opportunities, integrated into a professional structure that encourages employability and productivity in this area.