The Ghanaian capital, Accra, has been selected as UNESCO's World Book Capital for 2023 by its Director-General, Audrey Azoulay, after an evaluation by the World Book Capital Advisory Committee.

The choice is justified by the strong focus on young people and the potential to contribute to Ghana's culture and wealth. 

"The program proposed by Accra seeks to use the power of books to engage young people as an effective way to qualify the next generation," reads a UNESCO statement, quoted by Lusa news agency.  

According to the statement, the city has proposed to the committee a broad program that targets marginal groups with high levels of illiteracy, including women, youth, migrants, street children, and people with disabilities.

The preponents maintain that by championing the publishing sector and other creative industries, one is also "encouraging the development of professional skills to stimulate the country's socio-economic transformation." 

The measures to be developed under this plan include the strengthening of school and community infrastructure and institutional support for lifelong learning in order to foster the reading culture.

Accra's application includes a strong human rights dimension, which aims to raise public awareness of freedom of information and expression based on its own promotion of these rights.