Tbilisi hands over UNESCO World Book Capital status to Guadalajara
Tbilisi accepted the title of the UNESCO World Book Capital on April 23, 2021. Tbilisi City Hall said over 50 large-scale projects had been implemented under the status throughout the year. Photo: Tbilisi City Hall.
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The Georgian capital of Tbilisi handed over the title of UNESCO World Book Capital to the Mexican city of Guadalajara on Monday.
Hosted in the latter city on Sunday, the handover ceremony involved Andria Basilaia, the Deputy Mayor of Tbilisi, and Ninia Macharashvili, the Director of Tbilisi’s World Book Capital project that oversaw a range of literary programmes held in the Georgian city over the past year.
A number of projects were implemented for the professional development of the representatives of the field of literature [in Georgia] in 2021. We thank UNESCO for this opportunity, and thanks to the team that carried out such an important project for Tbilisi,” Basilaia said at the occasion.
The Deputy Mayor also wished good luck to the Mexican counterparts in their promotion as the World Book Capital, and said he believed “an interesting year awaits the city and the population of the whole country within the project.”
Tbilisi accepted the title of the UNESCO World Book Capital on April 23, 2021. Tbilisi City Hall said over 50 large-scale projects had been implemented under the status throughout the year.
Author residency programmes, literary festivals, artistic performances and publisher projects will be on the agenda in Georgia's capital Tbilisi starting next week, with the first details of celebrating the city's year-long status as the 2021 UNESCO World Book Capital are emerging.
Visitors to two international book fairs starting this week in Guadalajara, Mexico and Thessaloniki, Greece will for the first time learn about Georgian literature and authors as part of the events, with a selection of writers and literary project managers travelling set to represent the country.
The Akaki Tsereteli State University Library will host an event called ‘Gifting 100 Books’ within Tbilisi – World Book Capital programme on September 21.
The new school year will be the theme of the third book fair that will be held on September 18-19 in Dedaena Park, in Tbilisi within the city's year-long status as 'Tbilisi - World Book Capital'. In addition to discounted new or used books, guests at the book fair will find school or university textbooks and stationery. Also, handmade items, souvenirs, board games and more will be available at the flea market.
Georgia is featuring in Athens Book Fair for the first time this year, with authors from the country and translations of its literature being introduced to visitors of an anniversary edition of the event in the Greek capital.