Edinburgh Napier University

A special event at Edinburgh Napier’s Craiglockhart campus has marked the 20^th anniversary of Edinburgh becoming the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature.

Hosted by Edinburgh Napier’s Centre for Arts, Media and Culture and Tourism Research Centre, the lunch event formed part of a week-long celebration programme, led by Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, to mark the milestone.

The lunch was a chance for attendees – which included around 60 international City of Literature delegates from around 30 different countries – and members of the original steering committee that successfully campaigned for Edinburgh to become the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature in 2004 to look back on the achievements of the last 20 years.

The event also saw the announcement of a new book which will celebrate the 20-year anniversary. It will be published by Merchiston Publishing, the imprint of the postgraduate Publishing course based at Edinburgh Napier.

Edinburgh Napier has been part of the UNESCO City of Literature’s journey from the moment of its inception.

Through the involvement of emeritus professor Linda Dryden, the University played an important role as a founding partner with the original steering group being led by esteemed literary agent and recent Edinburgh Napier honorary graduate Jenny Brown.

The committee at the time also included some of Edinburgh’s most prominent literary and cultural figures including author Ian Rankin, then Scottish cultural commissioner James Boyle, and Donald Smith, Director of the Scottish Storytelling Centre.

However, the University’s involvement didn’t stop when the status was achieved in 2004.

Edinburgh Napier has continued to work with the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust – teaming up with former director Ali Bowden – who herself received an honorary degree from Edinburgh Napier in 2019 – to launch RLS Day in 2011, a celebration of Robert Louis Stevenson’s life which takes place every year on 13 November.

Most recently, colleagues at Edinburgh Napier, the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust and the University of Edinburgh have come together to co-supervise an Applied Research Collaborative Studentship that explores literary heritage in the digital age. This is a PhD project funded by the Scottish Graduate School for Arts and Humanities and is being undertaken by PhD researcher Cate Schofield.

This type of applied, collaborative research project sees Cate placed within the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust, helping her gain a unique insight into the organisation alongside development of employment-related skills during the process.

This, coupled with various other ongoing initiatives such as the Edinburgh Literary Salon, has meant that the relationship between Edinburgh Napier and the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust has continued to strengthen throughout the last twenty years.

Emeritus Professor Linda Dryden said: “It is hard to believe that it is over 20 years since I first sat down in a board room with a host of literary and cultural figures from across the City of Edinburgh to scope out the possibility of persuading UNESCO that the Scottish capital should be designated the world’s first City of Literature.

“With the expertise and determination of Jenny Brown and under the chairmanship of James Boyle, in a few months we did exactly what we had set out to do and on 13 October 2004 at the UNESCO offices in Paris under the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, the then Scottish cultural Minister Patricia Ferguson led a delegation which presented UNESCO with an impressive two volume dossier that offered such a compelling case that it was undeniable.

“Since then, Edinburgh City of Literature has gone from strength to strength. Indeed, the impact of the City of Literature on Edinburgh should not be underestimated. The initiatives that the team have created for writers, publishers, editors and all those working in the field of literature and culture have added untold richness and depth to the literary experience of the city.”

Professor Anne Schwan, lead academic for Edinburgh Napier’s Centre for Arts, Media and Culture, said: “Edinburgh Napier’s involvement in the Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature is an important example of the University’s ambition to build relationships with partners in the cultural heritage sector, jointly creating new networks and audiences, and generating creative and economic benefit for the city.

“We are deeply appreciative of the first 20 years of our collaborative journey and look forward to continuing this work with the Edinburgh City of Literature Trust’s team over the coming years.”

Professor Anna Leask, lead academic for Edinburgh Napier’s Tourism Research Centre, said: “Edinburgh Napier’s Tourism and Intercultural Business Communications Subject Group and Tourism Research Centre’s involvement in the City of Literature and tourism activity has developed via our short course Destination Leadership Programme, which former director Ali Bowden graduated from; our close connections with the Edinburgh International Book Festival, where director Jenny Niven is a visiting professor with us;  and our under and postgraduate programmes in tourism, hospitality and festival and event management - with students and staff involved in dissertations, placements and graduate employment.”

The Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust is a charity specialising in literature, advocacy and international engagement.

It believes that literature in its broadest sense enriches the soul and brings joy, and that it is a true way to understand and celebrate us, our city and our nation.

Through its work, Edinburgh was designated the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature being the founding city in an international network of UNESCO Cities of Literature. Over the years, the trust has helped grow a global network of international literary cities, for the benefit of writers and literature professionals, bringing opportunities for paid commissions, supporting their creative practice and broadening their networks.