Officials, writers and artists kicked off the opening ceremony during which Accra’s Mayor, Elizabeth K. T. Sackey, handed over the award to the Mayor of Strasbourg, Jeanne Barseghian (see photo). Books and reading are deeply rooted in Strasbourg where Gutenberg developed his invention of the printing press. It is the first time a French city receives this prestigious international recognition.
Several IPA members attended the ceremony, including, Anne Bergman-Tahon, Director of the Federation of European Publishers, Giovanni Hoepli from the Italian Publishers Association, Associazione Italiana Editori, and Renaud Lefèbvre, Director General of French PA, Syndicat National de l’Edition. IPA Secretariat’s Delegation was composed of IPA Secretary General, José Borghino, and Olivier Borie, IPA’s WBCC Programme Coordinator.
Since 2001, this IPA-inspired WBCC programme acknowledges the commitment of cities to promote books and reading during a 12-month period between one World Book and Copyright Day (23 April) and the next. Each year, the WBCC’s Advisory Committee made up of the IPA, the International Authors Forum (IAF), the European and International Booksellers Federation (EIBF) and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) reviews applications and makes a recommendation to UNESCO’s Director-General.
In 2025, the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro will take over from Strasbourg to become UNESCO 2025 WBCC.
Applications for 2026 World Book Capital City are open until 10 May 2024.
Useful links:
- Strasbourg World Book Capital City: https://lirenotremonde.strasbourg.eu/en/
- World Book Capital Network: https://www.unesco.org/en/world-book-capital-network
Previous World Book Capitals:
- 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)
- Port Harcourt (2014)
- Incheon (2015)
- Wroclaw (2016)
- Conakry (2017)
- Athens (2018)
- Sharjah, (2019)
- Kuala Lumpur (2020)
- Tbilisi (2021)
- Guadalajara (2022)
- Accra (2023)