The Universitat de València participates with the most comprehensive international programme that has developed so far. For six days, a programme that combines university edition, bibliographical heritage, exhibitions, cinema, music, workshops, academic debate and scientific dissemination will be offered. The proposal was coordinated by Publicacions de la Universitat de València, the Vice-rector for Culture, Sports and Social Link, and the Libraries and Documentation Service of the institution, with the collaboration of dozens of researchers, authors and professionals of both universities. 

The inauguration ceremony –directed by the principal of UNAM, Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas– had the presence of the vice-rector Albert Moncusí Ferré, highest authority of the UV as the guest of honour university in the fair, as well as with the representatives of the organisation, Rosa Beltrán –UNAM coordinator of culture–, Tamara Martínez Ruiz –secretary of UNAM Institutional Development–, Jaime Siles –2026 Premio Reina Sofía of Poetry–, Luis García Montero –director of the Cervantes Institute–, María Isabel Cabrera –president of the Unión de Editoriales Universitarias Españolas (UNE)–, Socorro Venegas –director of LibrosUNAM– and William Lee Alardín –coordinator of Relaciones y Asuntos Internacionales of the UNAM International Business and Relations.

This way, the FILUNI 2026 starts with an intense session that “reminds us the importance of building bridges through university edition, culture, and international academic exchange”, state from Mexico.

The edition of FILUNI 2026 gathers 350 publishing houses and presents 20.000 works. The Principal of the Universitat de València –Juan Luis Gandía– highlighted that the invitation from the UNAM “means the recognition of an institution of more than five centuries of history and a university publishing house –Publicacions de la Universitat de València– that, since 1920, built a reference catalogue within the field of university edition, with important awards, as the Distinció 9 d’Octubre de la Generalitat Valenciana”. “With the UNAM, we share the certainty that universities not only do research and train students, but also create culture, preserve heritage and foster critical thinking”, he indicated.

For his part, the Vice-rector for Culture, Sports, and Social Link –Albert Moncusí–, explained that FILUNI allows them to show a very comprehensive image of the Universitat de València. “We don’t just present books. We present a university that does research, preserves heritage, fosters artistic creation and understands culture as a public service. It is the most ambitious international programme with these features that the Universitat de València has taken to the fair so far”, he concluded.

The general director of the Publicaciones y Fomento Editorial of the UNAM –Socorro Venegas–, highlighted that “both universities worked to create a programme that fosters bonds of brotherhood, of academic, cultural, and artistic connections, but also of solidarity. The bridges that join Mexico and Spain are round-trip, and have continued to feed the university life of both communities”. 

The general director of Publicaciones y Fomento Editorial of the UNAM –Rosa Beltrán– underlined that “FILUNI is a fair of the university book that does not answer to the demands of the market, nor the urgencies of advertising. It consists of books that represent the knowledge that it is made in the university”. 

One of the axis of the programme is the presentation of five books co-edited by Publicacions de la Universitat de València and the UNAM. The works address some of the historical and cultural links that join Spain and Mexico. They recover the republican exile through figures such as Manuela Ballester and Josep Renau, whose career path was marked by the welcome that Mexico gave to thousands of Spanish intellectuals. They also explore the legacy of Popol Vuh and the Mayan’s culture, and defend culture as a space of freedom with a tribute to the international congresses of intellectuals hosted in València, in 1937 and 1987.

The cultural programme gathers almost half a hundred activities among book presentations, panel discussions, conferences, workshops, recitals, projections and concerts. The programme addresses issues such as climate change and land planning, democratic memory, cultural heritage, minority languages, scientific dissemination or the recovery of the book sector after the DANA of October 2024. In addition, it offers a wide perspective towards historical and cultural relations between València and Mexico.

Among the participants, there are authors and researchers like Luis García Montero, Carmen Boullosa, Marilar Aleixandre, Martí Domínguez, Andrés Neuman, Jaime Siles or Yásnaya Aguilar, along with specialists from the Universitat de València, the UNAM and other Iberoamerican institutions. The programme also includes a tribute to Luis García-Berlanga with projections, conferences, a concert and several training activities dedicated to its film legacy.

The university heritage occupies a prominent position as well. The Biblioteca Històrica travelled to Mexico with the exhibition Ink, Parchment and Paper. Treasures of the Historical Library of the Universitat de València (15th-17th centuries). There are also Las escrituras del agua –dedicated to the social memory of the DANA– La Nau de la Universitat de València y la función cultural del cartel –focused on the career path of the university cultural centre, and the setting created by Art al Quadrat for the stand of the Universitat de València, inspired in the figure of María Moliner.

The Universitat de València has also co-organised several international sessions parallel to the fair. Professionals from the institution will participate in meetings about university editions, libraries, university bookshops, and author rights, where they will share experiences about open access, artificial intelligence, movement of knowledge, and preservation of the documentary heritage. These forums will be useful to exchange experiences, face common challenges and strengthen the Iberoamerican network of knowledge.