On May 18, 1990 Dr. Salim was in Yaounde, Cameroon for a conference that discussed 'The Organization of the African Cultural Environment.' The conference was also a celebration of Neguib Mahfouz and Wole Soyinka, both Nobel Prize in Literature winners. In his speech, Dr. Salim paid tribute to both of them:
"You were among the very first combatants who contributed, through a long and determined struggle, to the liberation of the African cultural environment. With the power of the pen, you have educated millions, pleaded the cause of the Africans and that of millions more in the world who are less fortunate. You have articulated the view of the African society to the world, even at times for need of objectivity, you seemed to look too harshly at the society itself. But it is this willingness to engage the truth which earned you respect. And you have, in the process, made contribution to the liberation of the African mind." - Dr. Salim, May 18, 1990
