World Book Capital


The World Book Capital is an initiative of UNESCO which recognises cities for promoting books and fostering reading for a year starting on April 23, World Book and Copyright Day. Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital carry out activities with the aim of encouraging a culture of reading in all ages and sharing UNESCO's values. The nomination does not provide a financial prize.
UNESCO adopted the 31c/Resolution 29, in 2001, establishing the World Book Capital programme and naming Madrid as the first WBC city in 2001. The advisory committee is composed of UNESCO, the International Publishers Association, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the International Authors Forum and the International Booksellers Federation.

History

Six years after the launching of the World Book and Copyright Day, and following the initiative in Madrid in 2001 to create year-round celebrations around the event, the World Book Capital programme was created. UNESCO invited the professional organisations of the book chain: the International Publishers Association, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions and the International Booksellers Federation to create a programme aimed at promoting books during the period between World Book and Copyright Days.
Following a proposal of Spain, supported by many other countries, the UNESCO General Conference decided, on 2 November 2001, that the Organization would grant its moral and intellectual support to the conception and implementation of this initiative, by inviting the international professional organisations of the book chain to work together.
The first UNESCO World Book Capital designated prior to the adoption of 31 C/Resolution 29 was Madrid in 2001. An agreement was concluded among the partners that, after Madrid, the subsequent capitals would be Alexandria in 2002 and New Delhi in 2003.

Activities

Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital carry out activities with the aim of encouraging a culture of reading and sharing UNESCO's values in all ages and population groups. Through the World Book Capital programme, UNESCO acknowledges the cities commitment for promoting books and fostering reading during a 12 months period. The programme aims to raise awareness for literacy and reading issues, through its numerous activities. World Book Capital brings together the local and national book industries and creates various initiatives with organisations and other stakeholders. The title is also used to draw national and international attention to the literary heritage of a city and nation.

Nomination

Nomination process

Every year, there is an Open Call for Applications published on the official website of UNESCO. The Open Call for Applications for 2024 was published in February 2022. The nomination does not include any financial prize; it acknowledges the best programmes dedicated to books and reading.
The Director-General of UNESCO is responsible for the designation of the cities following both internal and external consultations with the other members of the Advisory Committee.
The Advisory Committee is made up of one representative of the International Authors Forum, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the International Publishers Association and one UNESCO representative. The committee meets once a year.
To ensure a balanced representation of all regions of the world, the Advisory Committee does not consider consecutive nominations of cities from the same region. Also, the Advisory Committee will only consider an application for a city in a country where another city has been a UNESCO World Book Capital if a period of 10 years or more has elapsed since the previous host city nomination.

Nomination criteria

The nominating committee accepts programmes presented by or endorsed by the mayor of the city making the application that promote and foster reading. The programmes run from one World Book and Copyright Day and the next. Applicants' programme proposals will be evaluated using six criteria:
  1. The submission of an activity programme specifically conceived for the World Book Capital and implemented during the city's term as Capital with long-term benefits for partners and society at large;
  2. A general outline of expenses foreseen and fund-raising strategies;
  3. The degree of municipal, regional, national and international involvement, including professional and non-governmental organizations, and the foreseeable impact of the programmes;
  4. The quantity and quality of one-time or ongoing activities organized by the applicant city in collaboration with national, regional and international professional organizations representing writers, publishers, booksellers and librarians respecting the various players in the book supply chain and in the scientific and literary community;
  5. The quantity and quality of any other noteworthy projects promoting and fostering books and reading;
  6. Conformity with the principles of freedom of expression, freedom to publish and to distribute information, as stated in the UNESCO Constitution as well as Articles 19 and 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by the Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials, as well as conformity with the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions.

    World Book Capital Cities commitment

By presenting its application each candidate city commits to:
  • Associate UNESCO and the professional organizations represented in the Advisory Committee, in its communication and information campaign by displaying their respective logos, on all publications and on the website dedicated to the UNESCO World Book Capital;
  • Provide UNESCO, which will share it with all members of the Advisory Committee, with:
  1. An interim report on the activities implemented during the first part of nomination year ;
  2. A final report on the activities implemented during the entire nomination year ;
  • Systematically invite UNESCO and the professional organizations represented in the Advisory Committee to all main events relating to the World Book Capital;
  • Produce and circulate information and communication tools on the activity programme to the Advisory Committee members.
UNESCO and the Advisory Committee assist the chosen capital in the planning and implementation of its activity programme during the two years prior to its mandate as World Book Capital. The city is required to facilitate possible evaluation audits implemented on UNESCO's request. If the work doesn't meet the panel's expectations, the Advisory Committee may withdraw the title from the city at any time during the monitoring phase, with one month's notice.
The city authorities also agree to support the administrative work of the World Book Capital Secretariat by gathering financial contributions from potential donors or participating in the development of fundraising strategies.

Cities designated World Book Capitals

The following cities have been designated as World Book Capitals:


YearCityCountry
2001MadridSpain

Madrid 2001

was the first city to be awarded the title of the "World Book Capital". The designation aims to promote reading and bring the public closer to the realities of the book industry. The Spanish capital took the initiative of creating this title and its first events.
Numerous activities, around the theme of the popularisation of books and reading, were organised by different companies and organisations that collaborated to support the event:
The existing Spanish book exhibition LIBER used Madrid's World Book Capital status as its theme for the year. During the year, the mountain "La Puerta de Alcalà" was covered with books.

Alexandria 2002

The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library, first constructed in the 3rd Century BC, is a resource of knowledge and the first world centre of arts and sciences. It was the first library to invent a bibliographic system. Although it was destroyed several times, the government of Egypt was determined to revive the library, an idea that dates back to 1974.
As part of the World Book Capital celebration, the Egyptian city reopened its library and presented the new library, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina on 16 October 2002. This US$220 million project took 7 years to be completed, was cited as the mark of "a significant modern endeavor," and was one of the main reasons Alexandria was selected as WBC, as it encouraged people to have an interest in reading.
Prior to the inauguration, the library coordinated with Alex Workshop Beautification Center, the Goethe Institute, and the French Cultural Center to organise the International Contemporary Art Encounter: Imaging the Book which took place from 19 to 22 September 2002.

New Delhi 2003

, the capital of India, is home to the largest number of publishers in the country. Its selection made it the first city in the Asia-Pacific region to become a World Book Capital. It launched a programme to promote publishing in collaboration with all professional associations and political and social actors concerned with books, including government services.
Various activities were organised throughout the year, including the establishment of book kiosks, libraries, and a permanent book pavilion at Pragati Maidan. An emphasis was given to promoting literary habits among children. As part of the World Book Capital celebration, several initiatives were planned, with the National Book Trust as the nodal agency:
  • Opening book kiosks around the country
  • Setting up a National Book Museum showcasing rare manuscripts/books on all branches of knowledge that serves as a reference library
  • Publishing of rare manuscripts and awards to publishers and authors in different languages
Other events were the Delhi Book Fair in August 2003, the two-day National Convention on "Making India a Book Reading Society," and the Children's Book Exhibition at various prominent schools in New Delhi. The World Book Fair in February 2004 was specially focused on India’s contribution to the rich heritage of humankind in parallel with the theme "India’s Contribution to World Civilisation in the Field of Science and Technology."