UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature are excited to be celebrating International Literacy Day on Thursday 8 September 2022, led again by Bucheon Creative City of Literature. This year’s special celebration takes place in Melbourne Creative City of Literature where the Cities of Literature Conference 2022 will be held from 5 to 10 September.
UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature uphold the importance of literacy and strive to improve it every day in order to enhance life outcomes and wellbeing for their communities.
International Literacy Day falls during this year’s annual meeting. The Cities of Literature cluster takes this wonderful opportunity to highlight International Literacy Day and to reinforce the importance of reading and writing for healthy communities and to leverage the power of words to build a better world.
On the day itself, Melbourne invites the delegations from the UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature cluster to Library at the Dock, which is situated on the waterfront of Victoria Harbour in Melbourne’s Docklands.
Library at the Dock serves as a centre point for the Docklands neighborhood, providing a place for culture, community interaction, and learning. These days, libraries serve an even greater purpose than just lending books: libraries provide community members with internet access, technology, meeting rooms, and diverse programmes. Furthermore, they encourage social interaction and lifelong learning. Library at the Dock, one of Melbourne’s six public libraries, is an excellent example of a library as a learning space and community hub.
This year sees the continuation of a beautiful tradition that will be featured on International Literacy Day, which involves gifting one or two children’s books from each delegate city to the host city of Melbourne. This tradition began four years ago in 2018. There will be an opportunity for the delegate of each city to present the books in person. These titles from numerous cities across the Literature Network will be donated to Library at the Dock for the enjoyment of the young readers and their families.
For more information
About International Literacy Day: International Literacy Day occurs on 8 September each year and was first declared by UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in 1966 to remind the international community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities and societies, and the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies. The issue of literacy is a key component of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Ensuring that all youth and a substantial proportion of adults achieve literacy and numeracy is one of the ten targets for SDG 4: Education.
About the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN): Created in 2004, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network gathers 295 cities from 90 UNESCO Member States that have positioned culture and creativity as strategic enablers for the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the local level. The Network covers seven creative fields that are Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, Media Arts, and Music. Currently 42 UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature from 31 countries are members of the Network and collaborate actively and closely to promote the power of literature for sustainable and inclusive societies.
Courtersy: Disparekraf DKI Jakarta
