A working meeting was held at the Almaty Development Center to discuss preparing an application for this status. Elmira Karmanova, the CDA's chief project manager and the creator of the social project «Book Capital,» met with representatives of the Kitap Elshiler initiative group.
This status is awarded annually by UNESCO to cities that offer strong and sustainable reading promotion programs. Over the years, Kuala Lumpur, Tbilisi, and Accra have been named Book Capital, for example.
This is not just a formal participation, but a comprehensive citywide program that will unite the mayor's office, libraries, publishers, and cultural projects around a single goal: to rekindle interest in reading and make it a part of everyday life.
At the meeting, key steps were agreed upon: the creation of an organizing committee, the development of a unified program and roadmap, and the launch of initiatives that will operate both in the city and in the regions.
A special focus is on rural schools and libraries. Plans call for a competition and the creation of accessible tools for teachers and librarians to engage children in reading.
The challenge now is not to discuss, but to act: assemble a team, assign responsibilities, and begin implementation in the coming months.
If everything works out, Almaty will be able to claim the status of a city where reading is not a rarity, but the norm.
