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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) |
联合国教科文组织授予苏格兰首府爱丁堡“世界文学城市”的称号，使爱丁堡成为世界上第一个享有此殊荣的城市。
苏格兰文化部长帕特丽夏·费格逊对这个决定表示高兴，他说这肯定了爱丁堡在文学上所做出的贡献。
包括JK·罗琳、穆里尔·斯巴克和伊恩·兰金在内的重要作家都是这项活动的支持者。
这项议案于10月13日提交给巴黎的联合国教科文组织官员，14日，这一决定正式宣布。
费格逊女士带领代表团来到巴黎，她说：“我非常高兴爱丁堡成为第一座被联合国教科文组织授予‘世界文学城市’称号的城市。”
“这不仅对爱丁堡来说是一个好消息，对整个苏格兰来说也是一个好消息。它确定了苏格兰优秀文学国家的地位。”
苏格兰文化委员会主席詹姆士·波义耳是这次活动的先锋。
他说：“我乐坏了。我们一听说这个消息就跳了起来为爱丁堡干杯。”
爱丁堡所拥有的文学大师包括亚瑟·柯南·道尔、沃尔特·司各特、罗伯特·路易斯·史蒂文森和罗伯特·伯恩斯，他们生前都曾在爱丁堡生活和写作。
爱丁堡将在2005年4月正式接受这个称号。
爱丁堡市议会主席唐纳德·安德森说：“我们始终很平静地相信我们会赢。但当结果被证实时，我们还是欣喜若狂。”
（中国日报网站译） |
Updated: 2004-10-18 10:01
