CITIES OF LITERATURE

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Who is the main point of contact for the group?

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As the group’s coordinator, Kjartan Már Ómarsson serves as the main contact and can help you create all the necessary connections you might need to make your application reflect your strengths, as well as the goals and objectives of the network and subnetwork. All members serve as fantastic contacts, and you are free to reach out to every member prior to application.

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Please be mindful that lobbying is heavily discouraged and in fact, only demonstrates a misunderstanding of how the network and application process work. Relationship building is the most important thing. While it’s interesting to know how many libraries and bookstores there are in your city, what is more useful is to know what your vision for the future is and how you believe you can cooperate with other members. Refrain from sending promotional and informational material without context or established relationships with the members. Communicate with Kjartan and he will advise on the next steps.

 

So this is a prize that we can win for being the best?

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The City of Literature designation is not a prize, trophy or accolade. It is recognition for the municipality’s literary and creative heritage; health, depth, scope and vibrancy of the contemporary scene; cohesive vision and development strategy. It is an investment in the future and enormous responsibility, often marking a new stage for the city as it opens itself up to a long-term global partnership.

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It is also an opportunity, because it expands the possibilities and ways in which you can support and elevate your local literary and creative sectors. The designation helps to not only integrate and engage citizens, writers and artists, but also institutions, the private and tourism sector, and more, through diverse literary activities, local, national and global cooperation and strategies.

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Will UNESCO give us money for our projects?

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This is a common misconception. Membership in the network is not connected with any kind of financial subsidies, nor with access to funds. All expenses connected to the municipal UNESCO programme should be factored into the municipal budget or in the budget of the institution that will be implementing the programme. However, the network gives member cities the opportunity to cooperate on external funds, either national or international.

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Where can I find information about how many people work in the various Cities of Literature offices and how they organize their work?

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Kjartan can send you a summary of this information. Each city organises their office in a way that makes sense for them, and there is no one model that you need to adopt. Feel free to contact John if you want to find out who would be useful to talk to, or any other coordinator that you’ve identified as an interesting case for you.

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How much money do I need to run my programme?

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This is the quintessential ‘How long is a piece of string?’ question and you will have to find the answer from examining your goals and expectations.

At the very least you will need the following:

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• Annual salary of a director of the office

• An office space for this person

• A budget for website development and maintenance

• A budget for organising events or at least having a presence at other larger events / the

• hosting of meetings between literary agencies and organisations etc.

• A budget for promotional material

• A travel fund for attending UNESCO conferences twice yearly

 

You should create strategy documents for your city, and outline what your vision and goals are. This will help you identify what human and financial resources you need.

 

I’m just starting to write our UNESCO City of Literature application, any tips?

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The designation is for the city, and so the application should be written by the city. What we mean by that is this application should be as widely a group effort as possible, because the designation should provide benefit and positively influence the local sector as broadly and effectively as possible.

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You will need the help and advice of many experts and stakeholders, so assemble them together to help you. This is about your city and must be a shared endeavour. These are the people who will go on to support you in your work after designation. Start by calling together any interested parties you can think of, so you can ascertain that enough will and drive exists within the city to help in gaining the designation, and then drawing benefit from it afterwards.

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Work with the Mayor’s office and local cultural departments from the beginning so you don’t have to convince them AFTER you’ve done all the work. They should also be involved from early on in drawing up the bid.

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Speak to existing Cities of Literature to broaden your knowledge and understanding of the work that others do in the world of literature – this will temper or broaden your expectations and get you started on networking, communicating and exchanging ideas. If at all possible, video call and visit current member cities.

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Be really clear about why you want to bid to be a UNESCO City of Literature and what difference the designation and the programmes you will run will make to your city and the people who live there. Everyone will ask you this question so be ready.

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I’d like to reach out to existing members and learn from their experience. Where can I find all the contact details for the coordinators?

Email the current Cities of Literature coordinator, Kjartan Már Ómarsson at Kjartan.mar.omarsson@reykjavik.is and he will give you the relevant contact details. These are, of course, already available on the UNESCO Creative Cities Network website but the contact with the coordinator can really help in achieving a better overview of the network and who may be best to answer all your questions.