The 2020 edition of the biennial congress of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) in Moscow will gather around 1,500 people, Denis Beznosov, the head of the cultural programs department at the Russian State Children's Library, which is the main organizer of the congress, said on Saturday
THESSALONIKI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 11th May, 2019) The 2020 edition of the biennial congress of the International board on Books for Young People (IBBY) in Moscow will gather around 1,500 people, Denis Beznosov, the head of the cultural programs department at the Russian State Children's library, which is the main organizer of the congress, said on Saturday.
Beznosov made a presentation of the upcoming congress at the ongoing Thessaloniki Book Fair, where Russia is a special guest. The 2020 edition of the IBBY Congress will be held from September 5 to September 7 at the World Trade Center (WTC) in Moscow.
"This [the WTC] is a large space in the center of Moscow. It fully meets all the requirements for hosting a large-scale forum for 1,500 people. We are currently choosing the venue for holding the award ceremony of the Hans Christian Andersen Award," Beznosov said.
He recalled that Russia had been elected to host the 2020 IBBY Congress back in 2015, at the Bologna Children's Book Fair.
"This is a big honor for us, as the congress has never been held in Russia before. The official topic of the congress will be 'A huge world through the lens of children's books,'" Beznosov noted.
He specified that the program of the Russia-hosted congress would focus on multilingualism.
"Many peoples live in Russia and we have over 150 languages. Around one year ago, an anthology of children's literature was published in Russia in 65 languages that people living in Russia speak. When we presented this anthology in Bologna, our foreign colleagues were truly astonished. This is why we plan to organize a special section dedicated to minority languages of different countries," Beznosov added.
The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the world's most prestigious award for authors and illustrators of children's literature. It is also referred to as the "Little Nobel prize."
