The President of the Republic, Daniel Chapo, described the awarding of an Honorary Doctorate to Mozambican writer Mia Couto as a source of pride, highlighting it as recognition of the author’s talent, creativity and profound humanist dimension.
In a statement cited by Lusa, the head of state said that Mia Couto’s literary work continues to project the country beyond its borders, stressing that the writer’s intellectual and literary career is an inspiration for new generations of Mozambicans.
Daniel Chapo also underlined Mia Couto’s contribution to the affirmation of national culture and to strengthening Mozambique’s presence in the international cultural and academic landscape.
Mia Couto was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa on May 8 by Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. The institution justified the distinction by describing him as an “unavoidable voice of the peoples of the so-called Global South” and for the wide recognition of his work, which has been translated and awarded in dozens of countries across all continents, according to a note from the Fernando Leite Couto Foundation.
In his message during the gala ceremony, Mia Couto said he shared the honour with all Mozambican writers and teachers who “strive to bring light and hope to the new generations of Mozambique,” according to the same source. He was born in Beira, Mozambique, in 1955, and has worked as a journalist, teacher, biologist and writer.
Winner of the Camões Prize in 2013 and the José Craveirinha Prize in 2022, Mia Couto is the author of works such as Jesusalém, The Last Flight of the Flamingo, Voices Made Night, Sleepwalking Land, The Balcony Overlooking the Frangipani, Confession of the Lioness, as well as several illustrated children’s books.
Translated into more than 30 languages, he has also received the Vergílio Ferreira Prize (1999), the Latin Union Prize for Romance Literatures (2007), and the Eduardo Lourenço Prize (2011).
In 2024, he published the novel The Blindness of the River, followed by the children’s book The Seeds of Heaven, released last year.
Source: Diário Económico
