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19 Jul, 2013

Incheon named “World Book Capital 2015”

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19.07.2013 – UNESCOPRESS – The city of Incheon (Republic of Korea) was named World Book Capital for the year 2015 by an international committee of experts representing the book industry and UNESCO, that met on 16 July at the Organization’s Headquarters.

The city of Incheon was chosen “on account of the quality of its programme and the impact it will have on improving good integration of all stakeholders in the promotion of books and reading, access to books and writing in all formats to the citizens of Incheon and the Korean Peninsula” according to the selection committee.

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, endorsed the committee’s decision and welcomed the number and quality of applications received by UNESCO for the title of World Book Capital 2015.

Each year, UNESCO and the international organizations representing the three major sectors of the book industry—the International Publishers Association (IPA), International Booksellers Federation (IBF) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)—select the World Book Capital for a one-year period, effective 23 April. This initiative, in addition to the celebration of World Book and Copyright Day, represents a collaborative undertaking by key stakeholders in the publishing world and cities to promote books and literacy.

Incheon is the 15th city to be designated World Book Capital following Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Antwerp (2004), Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogota (2007), Amsterdam (2008), Beirut (2009), Ljubljana (2010), Buenos Aires (2011), Yerevan (2012), Bangkok (2013) and Port Harcourt (2014).

For more information: www.unesco.org/culture/bookcapital