Taobuk 2026: Trust as the Key to the Future.
In Taormina, for the Taobuk festival on TRUST, over 200 guests from some 30 countries—writers, artists, scientists, intellectuals, politicians, and economists—gathered to reflect on the concept of the word, understood as an ethical foundation, as a generative force for civil coexistence, and as a bet on tomorrow.
Trust allows us to overcome doubts, fears, and uncertainties and to imagine new shared horizons. In a world marked by rapid change, global crises, and social transformations, trust has become, more than ever, a precious asset and a vital necessity.
But it is also a key concept for exploring the relationship between human beings and knowledge, between truth and perception, between citizens and institutions, and between individuals and technology.
In a world marked by rapid change, global crises, and profound social transformations, trust has become, more than ever, a precious asset, a vital necessity, but also a lens through which to explore the relationship between human beings and knowledge, between truth and perception, between citizens and institutions, and between the individual and technology.
At the conclusion of the 16th edition, Antonella Ferrara, founder and director of the Taormina International Book Festival, shares her thoughts on the event:
“This edition of Taobuk has come to a close, having focused on one of the most pressing issues of our time: trust. Not as a naive sentiment or an established certainty, but as a conscious choice, as an exercise in responsibility toward others and toward the future.
Throughout the Festival, literature, the arts, scientific thought, and civil discourse offered diverse and complementary perspectives, revealing the complexity of a concept that permeates every dimension of human experience: the relationship between citizens and institutions, between knowledge and truth, between innovation and conscience, between memory and vision.
During days marked by intense encounters and authentic dialogue across cultures, generations, and languages, Taobuk reaffirmed its mission to be a space for shared reflection, where culture does not merely interpret the present but helps shape the conditions of the future.”
TRUST
Trust thus brought together keynote lectures, meetings, dialogues, and exchanges among leading figures in Italian and international culture, confirming Taobuk as one of the most significant venues for contemporary cultural debate.
The highlight of the event was the Gala Evening on Saturday, June 20, in the extraordinary setting of the Ancient Theater of Taormina, featuring the presentation of the Taobuk Awards.
Among the literary honorees were Haruki Murakami, a master of Japanese fiction; Abdulrazak Gurnah, the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate; Dacia Maraini, who received a standing ovation lasting over ten minutes at the Greek Theater and is a former winner of the Campiello Prize and the Strega Prize; and Jonathan Coe, an English novelist and former winner of the European Book Prize.
During the same evening, the Taobuk Awards were also presented to other prominent figures in the arts and culture scene: actresses Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Ester Pantano, choreographer Roberto Zappalà with the Zappalà Danza company, screenwriter and author Donato Carrisi, and the duo consisting of the powerful voice of Nicky Nicolai and saxophonist Stefano Di Battista.
Particularly moving was the tribute to Franco Battiato performed by Giovanni Caccamo, who sang the song “Le stagioni dell’amore” with great intensity.
The Taobuk Award was also presented to the young and talented conductor Vitali Alekseenok, who conducted the Orchestra of the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania, and to the painter Valerio Adami, creator of the official Taobuk 2026 poster.
Taobuk has thus restored the word “trust” to its deepest meaning: not an abstract concept, but a shared responsibility. A cornerstone for the future of humanity.
