UNESCO

© Incheon
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View of one of the exhibition and conference
halls hosting the opening celebration of Incheon
(Republic of Korea) as World Book Capital
2015. This title is bestowed every year by an
international committee of experts representing
the book industry and UNESCO.
This also provides an opportunity to
reflect on better ways to disseminate
culture and support careers in publishing,
bookshops, libraries and schools. Later in
June, an international committee of experts
met at UNESCO’s Headquarters to designate
Conakry, the capital of Guinea, as World
Book Capital for 2017. The city was selected
on account of the quality and diversity of
its programme, its focus on community
involvement, its well-structured budget,
and its clear development goals with a
strong emphasis on youth and literacy.
Launch of a Coalition of Artists for
the General History of Africa
As part of its commitment to support
initiatives that contribute to knowledge
transfer, in October UNESCO launched an
international coalition to involve artists
in the promotion of the General History of
Africa. Launched in 1964, the General History
of Africa project was established with a
view to remedying the general ignorance
of Africa’s history. Back then, the challenge
consisted of reconstructing Africa’s history
from an African perspective, depicting a
truer picture of the continent, its cultural
diversity and its contribution to the general
progress of Humankind, freeing it from racial
prejudices ensuing from the slave trade
and colonization. The project has involved
contributions from 350 experts from many
different disciplines, and their work is
available in eight published volumes. Over
50 years later, and by mobilizing artists from
all fields of creativity, UNESCO is continuing