Jean-François Fogel, President of the Governing Council of the Gabo Foundation, dies

the french journalist Jean-François Fogelwho was president of the Governing Council of the Gabo Foundation and teacher of this journalism institution, He died this Sunday at the age of 76 after suffering a stroke, the Colombian foundation reported in a statement.

Fogel, who was born in Gargenville (France) on March 3, 1947, died this Sunday in Paris from a “cerebrovascular accident a few hours before the first meeting of the year of the board of directors, for which he had confirmed his participation online from Paris”, informed the director of the Gabo Foundation, Jaime Abello.

“Teacher, advisor, manager, friend, accomplice, Jean-François Fogel accompanied us for more than two decades with the utmost enthusiasm, commitment and generosity in workshops, seminars, juries, the Gabo Festival, consulting colleagues and projects, permanent telephone consultations”Abello claimed.

The French journalist and essayist “had a deep knowledge of and interest in Latin America and Spanish-American culture,” according to the director of the Foundation, and had books on Cuba and Colombia.

entered the then Foundation for the New Ibero-American Journalism in 2002 at the invitation of Gabriel García Márquez, and since then he has given workshops and has been linked to the sustainability of the legacy of the Nobel Prize in Literature through his foundation.

“He is irreplaceable and we will miss him a lot, but we will always remember him and we will pay him the homage he deserves at the 11th Gabo Festival in Bogotá (which will be held from June 30 to July 2),” Abello said in a statement about this journalist who has worked for the AFP agency and the newspapers Libération, Le Monde, Le Point and advised others such as The New York Times or the France Télévisions group.

“His work as an outstanding member of the Governing Council and his role as a mentor for the Gabo Foundation team are proof of his dedication to promoting quality journalism in Latin America,” the Foundation considered.