Edinburgh Libraries receive donations of children’s books from 36 visiting UNESCO Cities of Literature

In October 2004, Edinburgh was designated the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, a permanent title celebrating Edinburgh’s status as a literary capital and pioneer in the UNESCO Creative Cities network.

The concept of a City of Literature was devised in Edinburgh by the Trust’s founding members Jenny Brown OBE, Catherine Lockerbie, James Boyle and Lorraine Fannin, trailblazing the way – there are now 53 UNESCO Cities of Literature across the world. 

To mark the occasion, 60 representatives from Cities of Literature destinations across the global network came to Edinburgh for a four day conference as part of The Scottish International Storytelling Festival last week (21-25 Oct 2024).

The conference helped mark the achievements of the past two decades and to make plans for the future – ensuring that Edinburgh continues to stay firmly on the literary map.

As part of this conference the Cities of Literature attending from all over the globe carried on the annual tradition of donating a selection of books to the hosting city.  This year’s donations sees a range of diverse and beautifully illustrated children’s books in the original language of each of these UNESCO Cities gifted to the Central Lending Library in Edinburgh.  

Keira Brown, Communications and Community Manager for Edinburgh City of Literature Trust, said: ‘It’s a wonderful initiative that the Cities of Literature decide to donate picture books from their city, showcasing the range of talent from this global network, giving back to Edinburgh for welcoming these delegates to the city for the week, such a beautiful idea reflecting the international connection that is so beneficial for the sector here in Edinburgh.’

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Keira Brown from Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust and UNESCO Cities of Literature Coordinator, Hannah Trevarthen, with a selection of the donated books.

Nottingham’s City of Literature Director and UNESCO Cities of Literature Chair, Hannah Trevarthen, said: “It’s a fantastic tradition, donating children’s books to the city hosting the meeting every year, and one we hope will long continue.

“It’s our thank-you to the city for all of the hard work that goes into hosting the Cities of Literature delegates.’We hope that the children of Edinburgh will be inspired by the books from other Cities of Literature from around the world.’’

Within Edinburgh City of Literature Trust’s twenty year span, they have helped grow a global network of international literary cities, for the benefit of writers and literature professionals, bringing opportunities for paid commissions, supporting creative practice and broadening literary networks internationally.

At a more local level in Scotland, the Trust’s work has ranged from high profile campaigns to community-based Edinburgh projects, with bold, innovative work bringing communities together – connecting readers and writers as well as literary organisations in the Scottish literature scene.

The Trust has also long partnered with Edinburgh Library service, working to advocate the importance of librarians and libraries across the city.

Culture and Communities Convener Val Walker, said:“Donating children’s books is a wonderful tradition within the UNESCO Cities of Literature Network. Through our ongoing partnership we are thrilled to see this meaningful gesture from such a diverse network of cities. 

“As the founding city of this international cohort of UNESCO Cities of Literature, we take immense pride in celebrating our 20th anniversary, and I truly hope this wonderful tradition continues for many years to come.”

Edinburgh City of Literature Trust birthday also contributes to the on-going Edinburgh 900 celebrations; marking the 900 year anniversary of Edinburgh – a city-wide celebration of Edinburgh’s history, culture and future.

PICS: Neil Hanna

Story Valley: Cities of Literature meet in Edinburgh to forge new ideas for improving literacy skills

Edinburgh, UNESCO’s first City of Literature, last week played host to the first meeting of a unique European partnership group, The Story Valley initiative, to coincide with the Scottish International Storytelling Festival and the 250th anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott.
 
The City of Edinburgh Council, together with Edinburgh College, welcomed Story Valley partners from three other European UNESCO Cities of Literature – Leeuwarden, in the NetherlandsLjubljana, Slovenia’s Capital and Nottingham, UK – as the group came together to create new policy ideas.

This is part of its manifesto to use storytelling to improve literacy skills, while preserving and enriching cultural heritage through collaboration. 

As part of the visit, the programme has brought together the city’s literary sector and cultural partners – Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature, Scottish Poetry Library, Edinburgh International Book Festival (EIBF) and Scottish Storytelling Centre – and showcased the exciting work and projects taking place in Edinburgh.

During the three-day programme Story Valley partners visited Edinburgh College to see the project in action, share best practice and explore potential collaborations, visited the Scottish International Storytelling Festival and spoke to representatives from innovative projects happening across the city.

These included: Super Power Agency, a creative writing programme, using writing for confidence building amongst hard to reach 8-18 year olds in Edinburgh; the Creative Words for Well-being project by the Scottish Poetry Library; Street Reads Library, a safe space connecting homeless people with books; the Digital Storytelling project by the Scottish Book Trust; and EIBF’s Citizen Project

The programme was topped off by a light spectacular on Thursday (28 October) as the Granton Gasholder, recently brought to life in partnership with Edinburgh College, as part of the £1.3billion Granton Waterfront project, was lit up in Story Valley colours. 

The Story Valley initiative is funded by the ERASMUS+ Programme of the European Union.

The City of Edinburgh Council, Culture and Communities Convener, Councillor Donald Wilson, said: “As the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, we’re very proud to be hosting the Story Valley partner cities in Edinburgh for the first time, sharing ideas, inspiring one another and working together with the ultimate goal of improving literacy across Europe through the wonders of telling stories of our past.  

“Through this visit’s programme our Edinburgh partners have captured our Scottish culture and Edinburgh’s passion for its literary and cultural heritage while also showcasing our world-renowned Storytelling Festival. Everyone has gained a lot from this experience and I’m sure will be taking a lot away with them while planning the next gathering to progress the initiative.”

Ali Bowden from Edinburgh City of Literature, said: “We’re really pleased to be working with Edinburgh College, the Council and our sister Cities of Literature on Story Valley.

“Edinburgh has a strong storytelling tradition and it’s great that the students and organisations working on this project are finding new ways for storytelling to make a difference in people’s lives.”  

Edinburgh College Assistant Principal of Curriculum for Creative Industries, Jakki Jeffery, said: “We’re really excited to welcome our partners from Leeuwarden, Ljubljana and Nottingham to Edinburgh as part of the Story Valley project and are looking forward to showcasing the work of Edinburgh College’s Creative Industries faculty and sharing examples of good practice between the VET and further education institutions.

“Partners will have the opportunity to work on each of the Intellectual Outputs face-to-face for the first time and to meet some of our staff and students involved in the project to see first-hand what they have been working on.”