Yerevan Named World Book Capital 2012 by UN Cultural Agency

NEW YORK—The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization has chosen the Armenian city of Yerevan as the 2012 World Book Capital as part of its ongoing efforts to promote books and reading.

Armenia’s capital and largest city was chosen for the quality and variety of the program it presented to the selection committee, which met at UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris on July 2.

The selection committee brings together representatives of UNESCO and some of the main professional associations in the book industry—the International Publishers Association, the International Booksellers Federation, and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions.

“I congratulate the city of Yerevan, which has presented a particularly interesting program with many different themes, including the freedom of expression, as well as several activities for children, who will be the readers and authors of tomorrow,” said UNESCO director-general Irina Bokova.

“Mobilizing the entire world of books and reading, from authors to printers and publishers, will undoubtedly help to make the Yerevan program a major success, with a sustainable impact,” she added.

The city chosen as World Book Capital holds the distinction for one year, beginning on World Book and Copyright Day, which is observed on April 23.

Yerevan is the 12^th city to be designated World Book Capital, after Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Antwerp (2004), Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogotá (2007), Amsterdam (2008), Beirut (2009), Ljubljana (2010), and Buenos Aires (2011).