2024 Japan
IBBY Japan (JBBY) is honoured to be the official sponsor of ICBD 2024, under the theme "Cross the Seas on the Wing of your Imagination". Eiko Kadono, a prominent Japanese author and winner of the 2018 HC Andersen Award for writing, has composed a letter to the children of the world. Nana Furiya, an international-minded Japanese artist living in Slovakia, created a poster.
Imagination is the key word for ICBD 2024. JBBY believes that fostering imagination will lead to mutual understanding and a spirit of tolerance.
Message author: Eiko Kadono
Poster artist: Nana Furiya
ICBD 2024 Message - original Japanese text
ICBD 2024 Message - English translation
Stories travel, riding on wings,
Longing to hear the joyful beat of your heart.
I’m a traveling story. I fly anywhere.
On wings of wind, or wings of waves, or sometimes on tiny wings of sand. Of course, I also ride the wings of migratory birds. And even those of jet planes.
I sit beside you. Opening the pages, I tell you a story, the one you want to hear.
Would you like a strange and wondrous story?
Or how about a sad one, a scary one, or a funny one?
If you don’t feel like listening right now, that’s fine too. But I know someday you will. When you do, just call out, “Traveling story, come. Sit beside me!”
And I’ll fly right there.
I have so many stories to share.
How about a story of a little island tired of being alone who learned to swim and set off to find a friend?
Or the tale of a mysterious night when two moons appeared.
Or the one about Santa Claus getting lost.
Oh, I can hear your heart. It’s beating faster.
Flitter-flutter, thumpity-thump, pitter-patter, bumpety-bump.
The traveling story has jumped inside and set your heart racing.
You’ll become one yourself next, spreading your wings to fly.
And so, another traveling story is born.