Sharing the Network

16th Congress on Children’s and Young People’s Literature – Trujillo 2026

José María Arguedas Education Fair.

A few weeks ago, I had the honour of taking part in the 16th Congress on Children’s and Young People’s Literature held in Trujillo, representing our much-admired Rural Libraries Network of Cajamarca.

My first contribution was to share our Network’s experiences of reading. During my talk, I highlighted the most important aspects of the process of development, change and adaptation within this educational and cultural movement, paying tribute to its founders and to the community members who volunteer their time, encouraging others and using books as a tool. I could not fail to quote what Alfredo Mires said regarding books and reading: 

‘It is a matter of nurturing and taming, of appropriate trials and assimilations, of cherished cultivations that stand in stark contrast to those who may use books merely as a storehouse rather than as a marvellous tool through which reading can breathe life into the written word.’

My second contribution was at the round-table discussion entitled ‘All voices, all?’, alongside Carlos Pérez Urrutia and Cucha del Águila. It was a very enriching discussion, in which we shared our views on the issues and concerns that run through regional literature aimed at children and young people, as well as on the other forms of writing, storytelling and reading found in our region. We highlighted the work of the Rural Libraries Network in preserving ancestral knowledge for the production of books and their return to the communities, always under the guidance of Alfredo Mires, the driving force behind this initiative.

It has been wonderful to reaffirm once again the importance of the Network’s work with the communities of Cajamarca, its processes, its experience over these 55 years with books in the region, and the value of each of our principles.

Many thanks to the Casa de la Literatura for its ongoing recognition of the work of Alfredo Mires and the Cajamarca Rural Libraries Network.

Lola Paredes