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Edinburgh is named the world's first City of Literature by the United
Nations' cultural body Unesco.
Scottish Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson expressed delight at the
decision and said it confirmed the city's literary credentials.
Leading writers, including JK Rowling, Dame Muriel Spark and Ian
Rankin, had backed the campaign.
The bid was put to Unesco officials in Paris on October 13th and a
formal announcement was made on 14th.
Ms Ferguson, who led a delegation to Paris, said: "I'm absolutely
delighted at the news that Edinburgh has been recognised as the first
Unesco city of literature.
"This is not only good news for Edinburgh but for Scotland as a whole.
It confirms Scotland's position as a country of literary excellence."
The bid was spearheaded by
James Boyle, the chairman of Scotland's cultural commission.
He said: "I'm overwhelmed. As soon as we heard we jumped up in the air
and toasted Edinburgh."
The city could point to literary greats
including Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson
and Robert Burns, who all lived and wrote in Edinburgh.
It is thought that Edinburgh could officially receive its title in
April 2005.
Edinburgh City Council Leader, Donald Anderson, said: "We were always
quietly confident that we would win but we are absolutely delighted to
have it confirmed.
(Agencies) |
聯(lián)合國教科文組織授予蘇格蘭首府愛丁堡“世界文學(xué)城市”的稱號，使愛丁堡成為世界上第一個享有此殊榮的城市。
蘇格蘭文化部長帕特麗夏·費格遜對這個決定表示高興，他說這肯定了愛丁堡在文學(xué)上所做出的貢獻(xiàn)。
包括JK·羅琳、穆里爾·斯巴克和伊恩·蘭金在內(nèi)的重要作家都是這項活動的支持者。
這項議案于10月13日提交給巴黎的聯(lián)合國教科文組織官員，14日，這一決定正式宣布。
費格遜女士帶領(lǐng)代表團(tuán)來到巴黎，她說：“我非常高興愛丁堡成為第一座被聯(lián)合國教科文組織授予‘世界文學(xué)城市’稱號的城市?！?
“這不僅對愛丁堡來說是一個好消息，對整個蘇格蘭來說也是一個好消息。它確定了蘇格蘭優(yōu)秀文學(xué)國家的地位?！?
蘇格蘭文化委員會主席詹姆士·波義耳是這次活動的先鋒。
他說：“我樂壞了。我們一聽說這個消息就跳了起來為愛丁堡干杯?！?
愛丁堡所擁有的文學(xué)大師包括亞瑟·柯南·道爾、沃爾特·司各特、羅伯特·路易斯·史蒂文森和羅伯特·伯恩斯，他們生前都曾在愛丁堡生活和寫作。
愛丁堡將在2005年4月正式接受這個稱號。
愛丁堡市議會主席唐納德·安德森說：“我們始終很平靜地相信我們會贏。但當(dāng)結(jié)果被證實時，我們還是欣喜若狂。”
（中國日報網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2004-10-18 10:01
