Stichting Amsterdam Wereldboekenstad

Amsterdam has been a world book capital with a leading reputation in the Netherlands and beyond ever since the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic in the 17th century. Amsterdam has always opened its doors to writers fleeing oppression elsewhere. Along with the open-mindedness of the book trade, this tradition has ensured the Dutch capital’s thriving success as a literary hub, as a home to many industrious writers, printers, bookshops, publishers and antiquarian booksellers. UNESCO’s granting of the title of World Book Capital to Amsterdam presents the city with a unique opportunity to reaffirm its international reputation as a place of refuge for free speech and the written word.

Mission statement
Amsterdam World Book Capital wants to inspire and propagate dialogue and debate about the freedom of expression. The city aims to do this by adopting the ‘Open Book’ theme as its guiding principle. This theme ties in with Amsterdam’s character as a city of books, linking books with the social realities of the present, in the Netherlands and around the world. An ‘open book’ clearly presents plenty of opportunity to share insights into sector-specific domains such as copyright, self-censorship and digital media, and to explore them in greater depth.

As World Book Capital, Amsterdam will encourage a wide-ranging public to become actively involved with books in all their diversity during the twelve months that the city bears the title. This will be achieved by organising an array of public events and happenings, as well as workshops at schools and in city neighbourhoods. The ‘openness’ of the theme does not apply to the professional field alone, but also extends to the general public. The whole city must be imbued with inspiring, intriguing and exciting initiatives and activities around reading and books. Amsterdam World Book Capital is therefore making it a priority to reach out to the public in their own neighbourhoods, so that all the city’s inhabitants will feel that they are active participants in Amsterdam World Book Capital.

In the year 2008/2009, Amsterdam will be presenting itself as a port of sanctuary for the World of Books by entering into a dialogue and establishing links to the printed word as an instrument for building bridges across countries and cultures. These objectives will be achieved by bolstering existing initiatives, by launching one-off and recurring events, and by exchanging expertise and ideas with other countries.