Chilren enjoy reading books on a book street in Ho Chi Minh City. (Photo: VNA) HCM City (VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City is planning to apply for the title of UNESCO World Book Capital (WBC) in 2025, according to Lam Dinh Thang, Director ofthe municipal Department of Information and Communications.
He said that thecity has advantages and potential to develop the publishing industry andreading culture in the community.
There are 39domestic and foreign publishers, more than 140 distribution units, and nearly1,000 private bookstores in the city. It also has 1,500 local libraries andmore than 1,100 school libraries, creating a favourable environment to meet thereading needs of all people.
For years, thepublishing industry and reading culture in the city have been thrivingstrongly. From 2015-2020, the city published about 2 million copiesof books on average each year with an annual growth rate of 10%.
Facing the strongdevelopment trend of digital technology, the electronic publishing market inthe city has grown tremendously. In 2022, the number of electronic publicationsin the city increased more than three times compared to 2021, with more than 4million users, equivalent to 3.4 million copies of books being read.
Moreover, witheffective models implemented in recent years, for example, the book streets, thecity is considered the "bright spot" of the whole country in thedevelopment of reading culture.
The title of WBC has been held each year since 2001 by atown or city committed to acting to create a culture of reading. It can providean important impetus to experiment and innovate in the ways that literacy andreading are promoted, as well as to invest in key infrastructure, not least libraries.
Madrid in Spain was named the first WBC in 2001, Accraof Ghana in 2023, Strasbourg in France in 2024. UNESCO has launched the callfor cities interested in holding the title in 2025, with applications due to besubmitted no later than April 16./.
