World Book Capital Ljubljana 2010
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1 May 2010
31 Oct 2010
Slovene Pavillion at Expo 2010 Shanghai featuring Herman Potočnik Noordung, Starck with Riko, Primož Trubar and World Book Capital Ljubljana 2010, with contributions by Oskar Kogoj, Matej Andraž Vogrinčič, and Slavoj Žižek
As one of the biggest events the Fabula 2010 – Literatures of the World Festival Festival offered nearly a month of cultural and literary events in May 2010 including a reading from Nobel Prize laureate Herta Müller. "The World Book Summit", organised by the Chamber of Publishing, Bookselling, Graphic Industry, Radio and TV Media (GZS-ZKGM), concluded Ljubljana's prestigious year-long title. Weekly events - readings as well as music events or discussions on current topics - took place at a new venue, Trubar Literature House in the city centre.
Programme
The activities during the World Book Capital year involved several different projects aimed at increasing readership, developing a culture of reading, improving access to books and literature, and promoting the richness of literary genres and world literature.
The Book and Creativity in Cultural Fields
This series of events included the widest span of diverse activities and united books with theatre, music, film, and fine arts. The programme included various workshops for children and adults, as well as exhibitions, concerts, theatre performances, etc. Its goal was to connect books with their readers using new creative methods.
The Book and the City
Traditional and innovative literary events (reading corners, public readings ...) encouraged the citizens of Ljubljana to change their habits and read more. Thus, readings took place in locations such as hospitals, refugee centres, senior citizens' homes, and other unconventional spots. In the framework of the World Book Capital the Labyrinth of Art was planted in the outskirts of the city and the Northern Park was furnished with the "reading portals".
Ljubljana Reads/Growing up with Books
In the frame of the Ljubljana Reads/Growing up with Books project every pupil received a book by a Slovene author as a gift. Three books were selected, based on the age population of the students, by the authors Anja Štefan, Matjaž Schmidt, and Slavko Pregl.
Festival of Letters
The Festival of Letters aimed to revive the interest and knowledge on the movable type printing techniques, now widely replaced by digital technology. A 50-year-old printing press including a tonne of lead and wooden letters was installed in the Kresija Gallery to print business cards, letters, and sample books. The festival took place in July 2010 and was conceived by Marko Drpić, designer and calligrapher.
World Book Summit 2011
"The Book as the Bearer of Human Evolution" was the title of the World Book Summit held from 31 March to 2 April 2011 at Cankarjev dom, Cultural and Congress Centre. The summit addressed the challenges of digitisation for the publishing industry, the role of "linear" reading in the digital environment, and issues related to translating from the world's minor to major languages and cultural interchange in book business. The "Ljubljana Resolution on the Book" was written and proposed to UNESCO. The event was organised by the Association of Book Publishers at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Slovenia (GZS).
Books for Everyone
The Books for Everyone project involved 21 selected titles that were supported by the Municipality of Ljubljana and the Slovenian Book Agency with a print run of 8,000 copies and available for purchase for as little as 3 EUR per copy. Among some of the capital's most ambitious publishing projects were the works of Slovene authors Boris Pahor, Svetlana Makarovič, as well as Slavoj Žižek, one of the best known and most notorious, yet perhaps not widely read or understood, Slovene theorists, as well as internationally renowned fiction writers such as Richard Flanagan, Jonathan Franzen, David Grossman, and Herta Müller.
Pogledi Newspaper
The World Book Capital in Ljubljana has been accompanied by a newly-established bimonthly cultural newspaper Pogledi [Views] published by Delo Publishing House. It is the leading (and, in fact, the only) print media in Slovenia dedicated to arts and culture. With its print run of 60,000, Pogledi was distributed as a free supplement to the main Slovene daily newspaper Delo till Autumn 2010, later it became a self-sustained cultural newspaper.
Trubar Literature House
Within the capital framework a new venue was opened in September 2010 in the very centre of the city. Trubar Literature House serves as a cultural and intellectual centre with a book club, exhibiting space and information point. The mission of the Trubar Literature House is to become the reference point for literature, the book, and socio-critical reflection in the broad sense of the word. Trubar Literature House offers a programme covering literary and artistic, as well as critical and reflective, topics.
See also
- Municipality of Ljubljana
- Chamber of Publishing, Bookselling, Graphic Industry, Radio and TV Media (GZS-ZKGM)
- Pogledi Newspaper
- Slovenia National Commission for UNESCO
- World Literatures - Fabula Festival
- Festival of Letters
External links
- Labryinth of Art project website
- World Book Capital City on UNESCO website
- Candidature of Ljubljana for the UNESCO title (pdf, March 2008)