Me spending some time with famous Algerian cartoonist Slim (right).

What would the world be like without cartoonists?  It’s quite difficult to imagine.

At cartoon festivals, the public has the opportunity to meet their favorite cartoonists as they draw sketches for fans to take away, be it illustrations, cartoons, characters or caricatures.  Aspiring cartoonists also come to seek advice from the professionals. Not many cartoonists are bold enough to leave their comfort zone and mingle with other cartoonists anywhere else in the world, but I think it’s called networking.

Irish cartoonist Allan Cavanagh (left) and msnbc.com editorial cartoonist Daryl Cagle.

Two festivals continue to make impact on two continents. First, the Tourcoing Cartoon Festival in Tourcoing, France (Europe) and the Festival International de la Bande Dessinee d’Alger in Algiers, Algeria (Africa) popularly known as FIBDA.

Two women continue to champion the splendid display of drawings of cartoonists from around the world, Madame Francine Coppens lead the Tourcoing Festival while Madame Dalila Nadjem lead Algeria’s. Both are very well supported.

Last July’s cartoon festival in Algeria was a gathering of African cartoonists, while the one held this October was a gathering of cartoonists around the world, including special guest U.S. cartoonists Daryl Cagle of msnbc.com and Jan Eliot of the comic strip Stone Soup, who visited a women’s resource center. There were also manga artists showing young and enthused Algerians the Art of Manga comics.

Algerian cartoonists had their cartoons on display, including the legendary Slim. The gathering of cartoonists meeting each other, some for the first time, was a coup d’état for both festivals. The Algeria’s Festival improved on its first outing last year, and that’s a big compliment to Madame Nadjem and her team who left no stone unturned to make this another successful festival and turnout of cartoonists. It felt like being at the United Nations, especially when there were conferences about cartoons and comics. I enjoyed sketching for the enthused Algerian comic fans who also asked to take pictures with me.

Our group visit to Tipaza, a town on the Algerian coast, was a remarkable experience as we were taken on tour of the Roman ruins next to the beautiful sea.

Thanks for the memories Madame Coppens et Nadjem and a lovely way to boost tourism.