UNESCO ‘City of Literature’                                 

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Context: Kozhikode was proposed by the Kerala Institute of Local Administration (KILA) to be branded as a ‘City of Literature’ with the help of UNESCO. It is among the six places that the KILA plans to develop as ‘Creative Cities’ branding would help Kozhikode get a global reach.

• Thiruvananthapuram is vying for the title ‘City of Peace’, Kollam ‘City of Biodiversity’, Kochi ‘City of Design’, Thrissur ‘City of Learning’, and Kannur ‘City of Craft and Folk Arts’.

UNESCO's City of Literature programme is part of the wider Creative Cities Network.

UCCN

• The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) is a project of UNESCO launched in 2004 to promote cooperation among cities which recognized creativity as a major factor in their urban development.
• The Network covers seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Arts, Media Arts, Film, by 9 Design, Gastronomy, Literature and Music.

Creative City of Literature

To be approved as a City of Literature, cities need to meet a number of criteria set by UNESCO. Designated UNESCO Cities of Literature share similar characteristics:

• Quality, quantity, and diversity of publishing in the city
• Quality and quantity of educational programmes focusing on domestic or foreign literature at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels
• Literature, drama, and/or poetry playing an important role in the city
• Hosting literary events and festivals, which promote domestic and foreign literature
• Existence of libraries, bookstores, and public or private cultural centres, which preserve, promote, and disseminate domestic and foreign literature
• Involvement by the publishing sector in translating literary works from diverse national languages and foreign literature
• Active involvement of traditional and new media in promoting literature and strengthening the market for literary products
• It must have a sufficient number of institutions taking care of its literary life.
• The city should have the ability and experience to organise different kinds of literary events, and an appropriate level of literary education should be provided along with quality, quantity and diversity of literary activities
• Cities submit bids to UNESCO to be designated a City of Literature. The designations are monitored and reviewed every four years by UNESCO.
• There are forty two Cities of Literature, spanning twenty-eight countries and six continents. There is no UNESCO City of Literature in India.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/kozhikode/kozhikode-to-vie-for-unescos-city-of-literature-tag/article65264608.ece