Artists should have special visa.

Artists should have special visa.
I attended StoryMoja Hay Festival at Railways Club on Saturday, September 17, 2011.The annual event—that is aimed to gather writers across the globe to read and share ideas about writing—drew renowned writers such as Ben Okri, Yusef Komunyakaa, Peter Moore among others.
Upcoming writers benefited enormously from the advice of acclaimed writers who were more than willing to share their secrets. The three-day festival that started on September 16 was a huge success to say the least.
Netherlands’ leading novelist Abdelkader Benali who is also a long distance runner, was accorded a chance to share his secret in the British Council tent. He advised the upcoming writers to be focused and persistent just like the athletes if at all they intend to have a breakthrough in writing.
He raised a very important issue and this is my reason of writing this article. He proposed that all nations around the world should have a special visa for writers and other artists so that they can interact physically with each other with ease.
He noted that artists all over the world are in their own world in their own rights. The only way to help them share ideas and excel in their areas of specialization is through interaction. He further suggested that United Nations (UN) should champion for this worthy course to nurture talents.

James Mwangi Kanyi

Nairobi.