High mark for Ljubljana, city of literature
Since 2015 Ljubljana is a proud holder of the title UNESCO City of Literature and in the first four years we did very well in this area.
UNESCO evaluated our report for the period from 2015 to 2019 as excellent and specifically highlighted the efforts invested in bringing together and encouraging cooperation between all players in the literary chain (literary breakfasts, book fairs, promotion of reading events…). Within the network Ljubljana established itself as an open city also playing an important role in the network of cities of refuge for persecuted writers ICORN, in addition to directing a lot of attention to projects promoting reading in all focus groups in close cooperation with the whole literary sector.
In its evaluation of the report UNESCO especially praised the efforts for the introduction of a creative writing university programme and encouraging the youth to actively participate in literary activities.
Mateja Demšič, MA, head of the Department for Culture of the City of Ljubljana is pleased that Ljubljana is becoming an actual book capital, as many projects and programmes run by the Ljubljana City Library and other creators attract a bigger audience each year. Book fairs (online during the epidemic and open-air fairs afterwards) have shown how important books and reading are. The mission of a city of literature is to give everybody the opportunity to read quality literature, and Ljubljana is promoting this by co-financing reading projects and increasing the accessibility and the quality of our library network.