Athens may be the birthplace of democracy, and the cradle of the western culture, but since monday, the city is also the World Book Capital.

This comes as part of an initiative by The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which convenes delegates from the International Publishers Association and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) every year to grant the title of World Book Capital to one city.

Athens is the 2018 World Book Capital, following Conakry (Guinea); in April 2019, it will pass the mantle on to Sharjah (UAE). In the meantime, the Greek capital will host a series of more than 250 book-related events, starting off with an ‘Athens Urban Picnic: The Book Edition’, an all-day event featuring music, books, cinema, children’s activities, theater and interactive games.
More events of this kind are to follow, but also roundtables, exhibitions, open days at libraries and cultural institutions lectures and open talks with acclaimed authors, such as  Ian McEwan, who was in Athens last week.

“We are proud of this distinction. Our ambition and objective is for Athens to become a more book-friendly city, with greater opportunities for learning and knowledge”, said Mayor of Athens, George Kaminis.

The Athens 2018 World Book Capital is ‘Books Everywhere’ and one of the side projects will definitely make it true; a ‘library on wheels’ is scheduled to travel to all parts of the city, reaching to the largest number of young and old readers as possible.

For more information, go to the Athens 2018 World Book Capital website.