UNESCO City of Literature Directors’ Report – 2009-2010

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

Edinburgh is the world’s first UNESCO City of Literature, pioneer in a new international network of cities under UNESCO’s Creative Cities programme. This permanent, non-competitive title bestows international recognition on Edinburgh and Scotland as a world centre for literature and literary activity.

Our Vision

Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust seeks to build on the honour conferred by UNESCO in 2004 in designating the city the first UNESCO City of Literature.

Our vision is that Edinburgh will be recognised worldwide as a place of literature.

We are an independent organisation that works through partnerships, providing a focus and co- ordination for literary activity, reaching out to a wide audience to deliver clear benefits for the city and for Scotland.

Our Goals

 Participation – to stimulate wider engagement with literature by providing specific opportunities and experiences delivered in partnership with other organisations

 Learning – promote the pleasures and benefits of literature by inspiring new connections and developments

 Advocacy – promote Edinburgh, and Scotland’s rich literary heritage to the world, and support other cities on their journey towards being a City of Literature

 Creativity – bring people together to stimulate creativity, share information, provide space and opportunity, and develop a sense of community with the ultimate intention of spreading  Enlightenment – an enlightened approach to engaging with literature

Objectives 2008 - 2011

1. PROMOTE SCOTLAND’S LITERATURE by providing information about our rich literary heritage

2. Develop and co-ordinate Edinburgh’s LITERARY TOURISM to promote Edinburgh as a global city of literature

3. Promote EXCELLENCE in literature in Scotland by finding new ways to encourage participation and learning

4. Develop Edinburgh’s leading role in a new INTERNATIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Overview

During the year 1 April 2009 to 31 March 2010 the charity completed four major projects focussing on each of our key objectives and we delivered and/or developed more than 35 partnership projects, with two full-time staff and a turnover of £170,000. We worked with 7 freelancers on specific projects, 14 Trustees as volunteers and ran an intern programme with 5 volunteers.

We exceeded our cash fundraising target for this financial year (Target: £60,000, Secured: £64,872) and received donations in the form of a netbook computer, office space and 488 hours from volunteers. We calculate that on average each year we leverage approximately £200,000 as contributions in kind from sponsoring organisations, and committing partner organisations in support of our joint projects.

In September 2009 we moved office from Tweeddale Court to Central Library, George IV Bridge. Paul Docherty (British Council Scotland) and Colin Browne (communications consultant, previously Director of Corporate Affairs at the BBC and at BT) joined our Board of Trustees.

We lead an international network of Cities of Literature, and are the founding city in the global UNESCO Creative Cities Network. In the UK, Glasgow UNESCO City of Music and Bradford UNESCO joined our network.

We had 2.6 million hits on our website (a 30% increase on the previous year) with more than 390,000 visitors (a 34% increase). With a substantial increase in web content, we listed 594 partner literary events (a 28% increase) and issued 17 free ‘What’s On’ e-bulletins to our 1600 membership list. We saw 985 downloads from our websites and established our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Our Carry a Poem Twitter account, in the month of February 2010, received a Tweeter rating of 98.1, which placed it in 119,924 out of 6,298,734 tweeters.

We initiated the ‘Summer Read’, a six-month long Scotland-wide Scottish book promotion across 554 libraries in 32 regions. We helped develop the Scottish Government’s Writing Scotland showcase in Toronto and helped create three building-sized Poetry Banners for St Andrew Square. We hosted 10 Salons attended by 420 literary professionals. Five other Salons in the UK have now been established using our model.

We partnered the Edinburgh International Book Festival on their Scotland’s Writing Expo with 6 events and our Story Shop programme showcased 17 new Edinburgh authors. The Edinburgh UNESCO City of Literature Trust Information Desk showcased our own material and that of 27 literature organisations at the Edinburgh International Book Festival Entrance Tent which recorded a footfall of over 220,000.

With partners we produced a free promotional film about visiting Edinburgh City of Literature, gave 21 formal presentations and answered more than 1500 general enquiries from the public and press about literary Edinburgh.

Carry a Poem in February 2010 was one of our most successful citywide reading campaigns, with more than 1,600 people attending 32 public, school and community events. 13,000 free books and 50,000 special poetry pocketcards were distributed across Edinburgh, with poem projections on five locations in the city including Edinburgh Castle whose image travelled the world via the news wires. The month-long celebration culminated in the largest ever poetry event in Scotland, led by Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, with 19 poets and a sell-out audience of over 800, raising £12,000 for the Haiti Relief Fund.

Our list of partners is considerable and we offer our thanks to them all, but in particular we would like to thank the City of Edinburgh Council Culture and Sport, to Libraries, the Scottish Arts Council, Standard Life and the organisations and companies represented by our many Trustees, all of whom have donated time, energy, advice and in some cases, grants and resources which have made the work of our Trust possible during 2009-10.

Development

Building upon five years of successful work, which has focused on participation, promotion and engagement, particularly on a city level, we intend to consolidate this by completing the final year of our 2008-11 business plan (objectives detailed above) before moving forward during 2011-2014 to place an emphasis on our international work.

EUCL is not only the first city in the Creative Cities Network but is creator of the City of Literature designation within it, both in principle and in detail. EUCL stands therefore as a leader and wise head for cities working towards designation and as a hub for communication and sharing.

Our work during this period will fall into two areas: showcasing Edinburgh to the world and to the citizens of Edinburgh as a world-class literary capital, past, present and future; secondly, bringing to and implementing in Edinburgh successful participation and reader development projects currently in existence around the world.

These two areas will be reinforced by energy spent consolidating our role as a lead city in the expanding global Creative Cities Network.