Syima Aslam is the founder and director of the Bradford Literature Festival (BLF), a 10-day literary and cultural celebration, which she established in 2014. The BLF welcomes more than 70,000 visitors to Bradford annually and is celebrated as the most socio-economically and ethnically diverse literary festival in the UK.
Under Syima’s directorship, the BLF has made a significant impact on the country’s literary landscape. It has been hailed as ‘one of the most innovative and inspirational festivals in the UK’, bringing together literature from all genres, promoting intercultural fluency, providing a platform for marginalised voices, and reflecting the changing face of contemporary Britain through a programme which celebrates diversity, empathy and artistic excellence.
"I went to nursery in the UK, but when I came back at the age of eight, I'd lost all my English. So the perception and the way you see a culture at that point is different. But I had my memories of that culture having had those younger years. One of the things that I find quite interesting is the way that you are viewed changes with the way that you are dressed. I grew up in Halifax, and my parents did what a lot of first generation migrants do which is desperately try and hold on to this culture that they had in their heads. So, if I was at home, I was dressed traditionally, if I was at school, I was dressed in my uniform, if I was with my friends, I was dressed in my jeans. And I have found that when people meet you, depending on how you are dressed, they will talk to you differently, they will relate to you differently."
