Hugo Setzer, IPA President, said: Congratulations to Guadalajara on being confirmed as the 2022 World Book Capital. I understand they put in an excellent bid against strong competition. It’s great to see so much competition for the World Book Capitals and to see cities willing to invest in making reading an important part of their identity.
The city, which follows Tbilisi (2021) and Kuala Lumpur (2020) as World Book Capital, was chosen due to its policies around reading and books focused on social change, combatting violence and building a culture of peace. Its proposed program evolves around three axes: Reading activities in public spaces such as parks, social bonding and cohesion through workshops for children on reading and writing and strengthening neighborhood identity through intergenerational connections, story-telling as well as street poetry. Literary events will spotlight Latin-American writers, feature events linking literature to theatre and music and harness local radio for poetry reading.
Guadalajara will take over on 23 April, 2022 – World Book and Copyright Day – as UNESCO World Book Capital, which is traditionally committed to promoting books and reading through creative activities.