Report of the Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) 

This report details the progress with Manchester UNESCO City of Literature - following the designation awarded in 2017 an independent organisation was established in 2019. The vision for Manchester City of Literature is for Manchester to be an innovative, distinctive, equitable, globally connected city of reading and writing, where diverse voices are celebrated, creative talent and industries are nurtured and where literary activity changes lives. This report shows the progress the organisation has made towards the vision, how it has unified the city’s literary sector to strengthen programmes and events that support reading for pleasure, literacy and social capital. It also shows how the charity has leveraged additional funds for the city and created new festivals and activity to benefit residents.

The Committee received a report of Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) which detailed the progress with Manchester UNESCO City of Literature.  It outlined how, following the designation awarded in 2017, an independent organisation was established in 2019. The vision for Manchester City of Literature was for Manchester to be an innovative, distinctive, equitable, globally connected city of reading and writing, where diverse voices were celebrated, creative talent and industries were nurtured and where literary activity changed lives. This report showed the progress the organisation had made towards the vision, how it had unified the city’s literary sector to strengthen programmes and events that supported reading for pleasure, literacy and social capital. It also showed how the charity had leveraged additional funds for the city and created new festivals and activity to benefit residents. 

The main points and themes within the report included:

• Manchester City of Literature: a partnership network;
• Funding;
• Responding to the pandemic;
• Project activity supporting literacy and reading for pleasure;
• International Mother Language Day;
• Festival of Libraries;
• Community Champions;
• Write Manchester; and
• The future.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

• How would this be publicised;
• Request for more information on the Community Champions referred to in the report;
• How were young writers and illustrators benefitting from Manchester’s designation as a UNESCO City of Literature;
• Work with schools; and
• Whether any LGBT-related events had taken place or were planned.

Ivan Wadeson, Executive Director of Manchester City of Literature, advised that there had been a lot of press coverage when Manchester was awarded this status in October 2017 and that work had then taken place to set up the organisation in 2018 to 2019.  He advised that a website had been created in November 2020, that the organisation had been working to develop a social media presence and that the events it was delivering also worked to promote awareness of the City of Literature.  He outlined the Community Champions programme which was working to identify how the organisation could best support particular communities to come to literary activities on their own terms.  He reported that the international network of UNESCO Cities of Literature provided opportunities for young writers and his organisation worked with the community of writers it was building up to make them aware of those opportunities.  In response to a Member’s question, he informed the Committee that his organisation was working closely with Read Manchester and that he was a Board Member. 

Ivan Wadeson reported that engagement with schools had still taken place during the past year but that it had been online and that the pandemic had affected the numbers involved.  He highlighted the Write Manchester programme outlined within the report which would be launched in October 2021 and the resources this would provide for schools.  He informed Members that the City of Literature worked with a diverse range of writers and had platformed emerging LGBT writers.  A Member suggested doing some work linked in with LGBT History month in February.

Decision

To note the report.