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Gold Medal Jocelyn Danga Motty at the Francophonie Games represesented by Celena Ngoy, (president of Association of Young Writers), in the middle

On Tuesday, August 1st, Congolese writer Jocelyn Danga Motty won the gold medal in the literature (Short Story) competition at the Francophonie Games, held in Kinshasa, DRC from July 28 to August 6, 2023.

The writer was part of a selection of authors from around twenty French-speaking countries. He participated in the competition by submitting a work entitled « La Nuit et le soldat. »

The evaluation of the work by the jury, composed of Haitian writer Emmelie Prophète, who is also the Minister of Culture of her country, and Rwandan writer Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse, the 2021 laureate of the Prix des cinq continents de la Francophonie, took place in two stages: the jury's reading of the text and the candidate's on-stage presentation of the text.

The author draws much of his inspiration from the history of his country and Congolese society, as well as from a variety of works and authors from all horizons, such as Racine, Aragon, Julien Mabiala, Fiston Manza Mujila, Sinzo Aanza, Valentin-Yves Mudimbe, and Hala Moughani, to name a few.

As a recipient of numerous literary awards, he has already been published in France by L'Harmattan and is expected to attract the interest of publishing houses always on the lookout for talent with this new distinction.

Jocelyn Danga follows in the footsteps of Fiston Mwanza Mujila, who also won the same medal at the Francophonie Games held in Lebanon in 2009 with his short story "The Night."
The laureate was not present in the performance hall of the Wallonia-Brussels Center to receive his award as he was in France. However, he was represented by Celena Ngoy, the president of AJECO (Association of Young Writers of Congo), which brings together young authors and promotes literary creation and language promotion in different regions of the country.

The silver medal goes to Cécile Emmanuelle HUPIN (Fédération Wallonie Bruxelles) for her text "The Gift of Giving," and the bronze medal goes to Valentin DECOPPET for his text « l'Absence. »

This competition began on Sunday, July 30, at the Wallonia-Brussels Center, which regularly hosts exhibitions, events, and cultural manifestations in the capital of the DRC and served as the "Literature" site of the Francophonie Games.

The Francophonie Games have combined sports competitions and cultural contests since their inception and refer to the tradition of ancient and modern Olympic Games, a unique feature of major international events.

Biography and Background

Jocelyn Danga is an author and playwright born in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. At the young age of 22, he wrote "From Love to Death," a text marked by classical poetry. In 2016, he won the Mathias Eckhard Poetry Prize and has been featured in numerous international poetry and short story competitions, such as the Sédar Senghor Chansons sans frontières Prize from Africa Solidarieta. He has also been recognized in national competitions, including being nominated for the Zamenga Prize for short stories and ranking third in the Young Democrat Theatre Prize organized by the Carter Center. His very first play, "Le Large," was published by L'Harmattan in 2019, and he also won the Maurice Koné Poetry Prize in the same year.
He is also the laureate of the Tourbière Prize for Congolese Dramatic Writing in 2020 and the third prize of the Heroines of Everyday Life Prize organized by Paule Eunique Kinshasa. In 2021, he published "A Bird at Dawn" in a collection of three plays by Passage(s) editions. Currently residing in Metz, France, he is a member of the editorial committee of Miezi editions