Reading Mountains Festival
Celebrating Alpine cultural heritage in the scope of International Mountain Day - 11 December
The Reading Mountains Festival is a way to connect people who love books and mountains, even if they are physically apart. Book lovers and authors, mountaineers and artists throughout the Alps (and beyond) have a chance to discuss similar issues and evaluate the meaning, impact, and purpose of Alpine literature. Some of these discussions are captured in the film “People, Books and Mountains - The Quest for Alpine literature” that was produced as a follow up to the first editions of the Reading Mountains Festival.
"Reading Mountains" was first launched to celebrate International Mountain Day in 2015. The idea is to initiate events dedicated to mountains and literature in various places around the Alps on International Mountain Day, declared by the United Nations and celebrated on 11 December every year. The Reading Mountains Festival encourages the celebration of cultural differences and similarities in the Alps and, at the same time, connects mountains and culture.
Partners organising various events in the scope of the festival are provided with posters, bookmarks, and stickers that they can use for the promotion of their event(s).
To give you an impression of the potential diversity of the events, we have compiled a (non-exhaustive) list of literature. Do you have any suggestions for additional books? Need further information on the events or have suggestions for the initiative? Then do not hesitate to get in touch!
#ReadingMountains #MountainsMatter
Reading Mountains Festival 2023
Books and the wonderous stories captured in their pages allow us to meet new people and explore new worlds and ideas, turning the simple act of reading into an adventure and a journey. It also makes books and literature a foundation of cultural heritage.
Every year, the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention pays tribute to the literary and cultural heritage in the Alps with the “Reading Mountains Festival”, which consists of a mosaic of events organised by our partners throughout the Alpine region and beyond.
Taking place every year in the run-up to or on International Mountain Day on December 11, the Reading Mountains Festival offers us an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the literary and cultural diversity of the Alps.
This year, the Festival enters its ninth edition, and if you have never been part of it, we warmly invite you to join in and organise (or attend) an event! Events can take any form – whether a film screening, lecture, poetry reading, art installation, or a guided hike. Help organise an experience that showcases the creative, the imaginative, the emotional – and maybe even the confusing – aspects of Alpine literature!
The Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention is available to support the promotion of your event on social media as well as with posters, bookmarks, and other materials (you must register by 30 November 2023 to be guaranteed these materials).
Please do not hesitate to contact us for further information!
Climate Change, Forests, Mountain Agriculture, Natural Hazards, Population and Culture, Spatial Planning, Transport
