A program featuring the Bologna Children’s Book Fair was recently presented as a topic for the NHK Central Programming Council, so I dug out some old photos.
https://www.nhk.or.jp/docud…/program/4826/1942049/index.html

　
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is known as the world’s leading children’s book fair.
I was finally fortunate enough to visit in 2013, the year it celebrated its 50th anniversary.
This was because, by coincidence, we had launched the Digital Ehon Award the previous year, in 2012, and the Bologna Book Fair had introduced a digital category for the first time.
　
　

Why did Bologna become the Mecca of children’s books?
Is it because Bologna is the capital of the Emilia-Romagna region, home to Reggio Emilia—famous for its approach to early childhood creativity education—and
a city of learning that’s also home to the University of Bologna, Europe’s oldest university?

I’m not entirely sure.

In any case, isn’t it true that wherever something like this is first started, it becomes the mecca? With that in mind, we launched the Digital Ehon Award, which now brings together works from 40 countries around the world.
However, a book was later published that answered that very question.
“The Story of the Bologna Book Fair.”

According to this book, Bologna is “a city of trade fairs.”
Trade fairs are held for half the month, and most of them are international.
The oldest recorded trade fair was a livestock fair held in 1196.

Even today, Bologna remains a key hub in Italy’s transportation network, but the fact is that logistics were already thriving here long before the days of railroads and highways, thanks to the Via Emilia. The development of trade fairs was then promoted as part of Bologna’s postwar reconstruction policy.

In 1947, the City of Bologna established the Bologna Trade Fair Independent Corporation, and in 1960, it carried out a plan to construct a massive trade fair district, apparently continuing to seek new trade fair initiatives that promised reliable revenue.
Although postwar Bologna had drawn up urban plans aiming to become a city of one million, its population never exceeded 400,000.
Consequently, the city reportedly shifted its policy from aiming to be a major metropolis to becoming an international city.
　
The first Book Fair featured 44 participating organizations, 14 of which were from abroad.
Holding the event at the historic Palazzo Re Enzo captivated people from around the world, and the fair expanded rapidly.
It’s astonishing that the second edition saw participation from 128 organizations across 104 countries—more than double the number of the first.

Furthermore, Bologna is renowned as a city of fine cuisine.Bolognese sauce and lasagna.
History, culture, art, and food. Of course you’d want to visit Bologna!

　
From the very beginning, the Book Fair aimed to fulfill a sociocultural role, not just to facilitate the buying and selling of copyrights.
That’s reportedly why not only publishers but also educational centers, UNESCO, and libraries participate.
I can certainly relate to that point.
　
However, the book fair has been operating at a loss for many years.
So why did a for-profit organization keep it going? It’s because this book fair has brought cultural prestige and the status of an international city to Bologna.
Perseverance is power. We, too, should keep at it tenaciously.
Of course, not everything went smoothly.
As visitor numbers increased and general admission was restricted,
public backlash grew: “Why can’t children enter a fair that’s supposed to be for children?”
　　
That’s when the initiative “The Book Fair That Spilled Out from the Exhibition Hall into the City” began.
Workshops and exhibitions for children began to be held at various venues throughout the city, including libraries, children’s bookstores, and art museums.
I’m told it has now become an annual community tradition.
　
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair is a event that the entire city of Bologna comes together to support.
We must not forget that the children’s library built across from the Palazzo Reale and the children’s book specialty store founded by five women also play major roles. This is because the event is organized not by the fair’s corporate body, but by the children’s book specialty store.
If you visit Bologna, I highly recommend stopping by these two places.

　
In addition, there are child jurors, traveling children’s book exhibitions, programs for teachers, and more;
while some initiatives have become established and others have been discontinued, it’s very clear how the fair has evolved through trial and error.
Moreover, these initiatives align with the challenges we faced and the ideas we considered when organizing the Workshop Collection and the Digital Ehon Awards,
and I feel a deep sense of empathy and respect for the fact that they’ve been doing this for over 50 years.
We’re still working with PubCoder and DADAcompany, whom we met during that time.
　
　
Well then, we’ll be holding the Digital Ehon Awards again this year.
Details will be released soon, so please start preparing your entries.