UNESCO names Yerevan 2012 World Book Capital

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has named the Armenian capital of Yerevan as the 2012 World Book Capital. Armenians celebrated the announcement during an official ceremony held at the Yerevan City Hall on April 22, 2012, which also marked the 500th anniversary of printing in the country. Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan attended the event along with a number of cultural officials and UNESCO representatives. “For the nation, whose history of printing stretches five hundred years, this is the greatest source of pride,” said Sargsyan during the ceremony. Armenia’s capital and largest city was chosen for the quality and variety of the program it presented to the World Book Capital selection committee. The selection committee usually brings together representatives of UNESCO and some of the main professional associations in the book industry, including the International Publishers Association, the International Booksellers Federation and the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions. Yerevan is the 12th 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) and Buenos Aires (2011).