The annual meeting of UNESCO Cities of Literature is taking place in Ljubljana until 12 September 2025. Fifty-five representatives from around the world will share best practices and explore Ljubljana’s literary scene.

Representatives of UNESCO Cities of Literature from around the world

From 8 to 12 September, the City of Ljubljana is hosting 55 delegates from around the world who represent and lead UNESCO Cities of Literature programmes. Among the guests are representatives from Melbourne, Jakarta, Iowa City, Seattle, Granada, Barcelona, Okayama, Bucheon and Reykjavik. Over five days, alongside internal network work, guests will explore Ljubljana’s literary spaces and programmes.

Ljubljana chosen for its numerous best practices

Ljubljana, a UNESCO City of Literature, was selected as the host for the annual meeting precisely because of its active role and numerous best practices. International guests will get to know our city through its literary programmes and festivals as well as the city library network. They will visit the National and University Library, and together with them, we will open a discussion on the importance of university creative writing programmes at the Faculty of Arts. Guests will present the history and structure of their programmes and their impact on the development of the field, followed by a discussion led by Andrej Blatnik and Ana Svetel. The guests will also learn about the work of the Slovenian PEN Center, the ICORN network and the history of meetings in Bled.

10 years of Ljubljana as a UNESCO City of Literature

This year marks the 10th anniversary of Ljubljana’s membership in the network – the title Ljubljana, UNESCO City of Literature was awarded in December 2015. With the title, we committed not only to collaborating with the UNESCO Cities of Literature network but also to continuing to connect and promote the field of literature, support creators and programmes and foster the development of literary spaces.