Press release: An Eastern Cape metro receives a UNESCO City of Literature status
Buffalo City is the second City of Literature in South Africa.
Amazwi South African museum of Literature, on its Facebook page, immediately reacted by congratulating Buffalo City Metro on becoming the second City of Literature in South Africa. The long-awaited announcement came through a media release by UNESCO on its website on Tuesday, 31 October 2023. The first city was Durban in 2018.
The announcement further affirms Amazwi being grounded in the Eastern Cape where Sindiwe Magona was born (in Gungululu village, Tsolo) in 1943. Amazwi launched an exhibition titled “A Conscience of the Nation” on 28 September 2023 in honour of Magona turning 80 years old. She is a literary stalwart and a living legend, writing various genres that include children’s literature, in isiXhosa and English.
It is hoped that the City of Literature will not only provide a profile and bring benefits to Buffalo City Metro, but also to Amazwi as a national museum of literature based in the province, as well as libraries, universities, bookshops, other literary activities in the province, independent publishers and many authors at large.
Announced on World Cities Day, Buffalo City Metro is joining other 55 cities in becoming part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN). The UNESCO website said that the newly designated Creative Cities are invited to participate in the 2024 UCCN Annual Conference (1 – 5 July 2024) in Braga, Portugal, under the theme “Bringing Youth to the table for the next decade”.