In 2014, Ljubljana is to have the honour of hosting the General Assembly of ICORN, the International Cities of Refuge Network for persecuted writers.

The City of Ljubljana perceives the ICORN executive board’s decision to hold its General Assembly in Ljubljana as an opportunity for original Slovenian creativity to develop in contact with authors from other cultural environments, while at the same time allowing Ljubljana to demonstrate once again its cosmopolitan openness to other nations and cultures.

The City of Ljubljana joined the cities of refuge network for persecuted writers in 2011, during the period when Ljubljana held the title of UNESCO World Book Capital (23 April 2010 – 23 April 2011).

The ICORN network was set up at the initiative of Salman Rushdie and the International Parliament of Writers (IPW) in 1994 as an international network of cities that offer shelter to writers who are under threat due to their artistic creativity and expression of opinion. The network of cities of refuge comprises many cities in numerous democratic countries, mainly in Norway, where the network has been operating since as early as 1995.

Further information about the International Cities of Refuge Network for persecuted writers can be found on the network’s website.