Literature opens up other ways of thinking, other traditions and social structures, always coloured by the particular view of the individual author. A large proportion of literary works nowadays reach their audience through the international book trade. However, the structures of this market are often distinctly asymmetrical and frequently the literary quality of works from other cultures is obscured by literary fashions and other laws of the open market. For this reason the Foreign Office, through various cultural exchange institutions, promotes both information centres abroad for German literature as well as the translation of German literature into a whole number of languages, and vice versa the translation of literature from Africa, Asia and Latin America, Central, South-East and Eastern Europe into German. Furthermore, book exhibitions and readings by authors are a valuable means to increase readers' enjoyment of literature from other cultures.