Conakry named as World Book Capital for 2017 by UNESCO

Conakry, the capital of the Republic of Guinea, was on 21 July 2015 named as the World Book Capital for 2017 by United Nations Organization for Education, Science and Culture (UNESCO). The decision was made by an international committee of experts on 30 June 2015 during a meeting.

The selection committee singled out Conakry for the quality and diversity of its programme, in particular for its focus on community involvement as well as for its well-structured budget and clear development goals with a strong emphasis on youth and literacy.

With this, Conakry becomes the 17th city to be designated as World Book Capital, after Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Antwerp (2004), Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogota (2007), Amsterdam (2008), Beirut (2009), Ljubljana (2010), Buenos Aires (2011), Yerevan (2012), Bangkok (2013), Port Harcourt (2014) Incheon (2015) and Wroclaw (2016).

About World Book Capital

• The World Book Capital is selected every year by the international organizations that represent the three major sectors of the book industry:
  • The International Publishers Association (IPA)
  • The International Booksellers Federation (IBF)
  • The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA)
• The year for awarding World Book Capital starts on 23 April, which is celebrated as World Book and Copyright Day.