The Union of Writers of Africa, Asia, and Latin America was established in 1958 following its founding conference in Turkey. Sri Lanka served as the Union’s first headquarters, with the esteemed writer Youssef El-Sebai as its first president. The Union’s leadership was later passed on to several prominent cultural figures, including the celebrated writer Abdel Rahman El-Sharkawy and the renowned author Lotfy El-Khouli.

The Union comprises 47 member states and expanded during the Vietnam Conference in 2013 to include Latin America.

The Union began its activities as an integral part of the Afro-Asian Peoples’ Solidarity Organization (AAPSO), an international non-governmental organization founded during the era of President Gamal Abdel Nasser following the Bandung Conference of 1955.

The Union of Writers of Africa, Asia, and Latin America serves as the intellectual backbone of the Non-Aligned Movement. It was originally founded in Sri Lanka in 1958 and includes member states from three continents. The Egyptian writer Youssef El-Sebai moved the Union’s headquarters to Cairo after assuming the position of Minister of Culture in the 1970s.

Over the decades, the Union has witnessed significant activities with the participation of leading intellectuals, cultural figures, and creatives from member countries. Among its prominent contributors were the writer and author Lotfy El-Khouli, who succeeded Youssef El-Sebai as Secretary-General of the Union, the distinguished writer Abdel Rahman El-Sharkawy, the renowned Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, and the acclaimed author Edwar El-Kharrat.

The current Secretary-General of the Union is the writer and media figure Ahmed El-Messalmani.

The Union’s headquarters is located in Cairo.