YEREVAN — The ninth Yerevan In- ternational Book Festival has opened at the National Gallery of Armenia’s Mural Hall. The opening ceremony was attend- ed by Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports Zhanna Andreasy- an, Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan, writers, publishers and members of the reading public. “It is a great pleasure to open the Book Festival’s rich and diverse pro- gram in a hall that has already hosted many important events,” Andreasyan said, noting that each year the festival demonstrates that Yerevan is a city that reads. The theme of this year’s festival is language, presented as a unique phe- nomenon that preserves and transmits the memory of civilization. The fes- tival is organized at the initiative of Armenia’s Ministry of Education, Sci- ence, Culture and Sports. Welcoming those in attendance and congratulating them on the festival’s opening, Andreasyan said the breadth of the three-day program provides an opportunity to discuss some of the most important issues related to litera- ture and reading. “The festival continues to grow from year to year, developing a life of its own, expanding its boundaries and geography, and creating new partner- ships that help open new markets,” Andreasyan said. “For us, the festival is also an ex- cellent opportunity to emphasize the importance of reading, especially since the Ministry has declared this academic year the Year of Reading, which we are launching with the Ye- revan International Book Festival. Just a few hours ago, in this same hall, we discussed ways to promote reading in schools,” she added. Festival Director Ani Ghazaryan expressed gratitude to everyone who has contributed to the festival’s devel- opment over the years and highlighted three major changes that have taken place during the past three years. First, the festival has become an international event. Second, it has expanded its fellowship program and direct cooperation between Armenian and international publishers. This year, publishers from France, Ukraine, Slo- venia, Hungary, Georgia and Iran have traveled to Armenia to participate. The third major change concerns the literary awards system. Submis- sions are now presented to juries ex- clusively through a coded, anonymous process intended to prevent an author’s identity from influencing the selection of winners. Ghazaryan also noted that the fes- tival has established the Saroyan Inter- national Prose Competition, as well as an international competition devoted to Western Armenian prose. Yerevan Mayor Tigran Avinyan said that since 2022, the Yerevan Mu- nicipality has placed greater emphasis on the city’s cultural life and has begun supporting a variety of cultural events and festivals.