World Book Capital
Call for nominations
2011
French
Spanish
The Selection Committee for the World Book Capital is calling for
nominations for the World Book Capital 2011. The complete applications,
duly substantiated, compulsorily including a cover or support letter
from the mayor of the candidate-city and drafted in one of
UNESCO’s official languages (French, English, Spanish, Russian,
Arabic or Chinese), should reach UNESCO no later than Monday 31 March
2009. No application received after this date will be taken into
consideration.
The applications shall contain maximum 25 pages in A4 format and
should be transmitted by the post to the UNESCO contact below (in 5
original copies) or by e mail in pdf format, to the address wbcc@unesco.org.
The applications will provide a contact person (name, title, postal
address, telephone and e mail) responsible for the correspondence
between the City and the Committee before the selection and after the
nomination.
In sending their applications, the candidate cities grant UNESCO and
the other members of the Selection the right to circulate and publish
the applications on line for information purposes.
The candidate programmes shall be aimed at promoting books and
fostering reading during the period between one World Book and
Copyright Day and the next (23 April).
To involve all regions* of the world in turn, the
Selection Committee will avoid the consecutive nomination of cities
from the same region. Since the 2010 title was awarded to a city of the
Europe and North America region (Ljubljana), no candidature from this
region will be taken into consideration for the 2011 nomination.
* According to its own criteria based on
operational needs, UNESCO distinguishes five regions: Africa, Arab
States, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and North America, and Latin
America and the Caribbean (see annex).
The applicants' programme proposals will be examined in the
light of the following six criteria:
- the submission of an activity programme specifically conceived
for the World Book Capital City programme and implemented during
the city's term as Capital City.
- a general outline of expenses planned and a strategy to identify
possible financial resources
- the degree of municipal, regional, national and international
involvement, including professional and non-government
organizations, and the impact of the programmes.
- the quantity and quality of one-time or ongoing activities
organized by the applicant city in collaboration with national and
international professional organizations representing writers,
publishers, booksellers and librarians and in full respect of the
various players in the book supply chain and in the scientific and
literary community.
- the quantity and quality of any other noteworthy projects
promoting and fostering books and reading.
- the conformity with the principles of freedom of expression,
freedom to publish and to distribute information, as stated in the
UNESCO Constitution as well as by Articles 19 and 27 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and by the Agreement on the
Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials
(Florence Agreement).
By presenting its application each candidate city commits
itself, in case of nomination, to:
- Associate UNESCO and the three professional associations
represented in the Selection Committee, in its communication and
information campaign namely by displaying their respective logos,
at all levels on all publications and on the web site dedicated to
the initiative);
- Provide UNESCO, which will share it with all members of the
Selection Committee, with:
- An interim report on the activities implemented during the
first part of nomination year (23 April 2010-October 2010);
- A final report on the activities implemented during the whole
nomination year (23 April 2011-22 April 2012);
- Systematically invite UNESCO and the three professional
associations represented in the Selection Committee to all main
events relating the World Book Capital City programme;
- Produce and circulate information and communication tools on the
City programme both in national and international languages.
Besides, the City authorities commit themselves to facilitate
possible evaluation audits implemented on UNESCO’s demand.
The Selection Committee – operating under the auspices of
UNESCO – is made up of one representative of the International
Publishers Association (IPA), one representative of the International
Booksellers’ Federation (IBF), one representative of the
International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions
(IFLA) and one UNESCO representative, under the chairmanship of the
President of IPA. The Committee’s task is to choose a World Book
Capital each year, in accordance with 31 C/Resolution 29, adopted by
the UNESCO General Conference on 2 November 2001. The first World Book
Capital chosen prior to the adoption of 31 C/Resolution 29 was Madrid,
in 2001. Subsequent World Book Capital Cities have been Alexandria
(2002), New Delhi (2003), and Antwerp (2004). Montreal was the World
Book Capital City in 2005, succeeded by Turin (2006), Bogotá (2007),
Amsterdam (2008), Beirut (2009) and Ljubljana (2010)
Contact
UNESCO
Mr Mauro Rosi
Culture
Division of Arts and Cultural Enterprise
1, rue Miollis
F-75732 Paris Cedex 15
Tel.: +33 1 45 68 46 33
Fax: +33 1 45 68 55 95
E-mail: m.rosi@unesco.org