Hay Festival Cartagena 2025

In 2025, the Hay Festival celebrates 20 years of conversations and thought in Colombia. To mark the anniversary, we have run a collaborative project in which Colombian society has helped us to put the twenty key questions for our time. In a context in which the environmental crisis and climate change have become urgent matters, festival guests urge us to reconsider our relationship with the planet based on the following questions: How can we change existing narratives to tackle the climate emergency? How can we make the exploitation of raw materials compatible with their climate impact? How can extensive farming be made compatible with protecting biodiversity in Colombia? Peter Frankopan (United Kingdom), writer and historian; Virginia Mendoza (Spain), journalist, writer and anthropologist; Gustavo Ulcué Campo (Colombia), Nasa film and television producer. In conversation with Rosie Boycott.

Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available

This workshop with the cultural manager and educator Jesús Herrera Babilonia (Colombia) seeks to boost the community’s individual and collective identity by means of self-knowledge and critical reflection on their cultural roots. It will offer spaces where people can connect with their history and traditions, recognising their value as part of the construction of the territory.

Ages 6 and over

In 2025, the Hay Festival celebrates 20 years of conversations and thought in Colombia. To mark the anniversary, we have run a collaborative project in which Colombian society has helped us to put the twenty key questions for our time. Festival guests will bring a wide ranging focus to the conversation, including perspectives from both the global south and the north, and based on the following questions: How can economic degrowth be made an attractive alternative? How would the legalisation of drugs affect the world economy? What can the city learn from the countryside, and vice versa? With Anne Applebaum (United States), Nataliya Gumenyuk (Ukraine) and Jorge Ramos (Mexico / United States). They will talk to Clara Elvira Ospina.

Simultaneous interpretation from English to Spanish available

All Sunday 2 February events will be free for people from the department of Bolívar. Complimentary tickets can be requested at the box office of the Hay Festival (Centro de Convenciones) showing your ID, between 27 Janaury and 2 February.