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Posted on 08.06.18

Edinburgh International Book Festival Launches Codename F

In 2018, Scotland puts its young people in the spotlight, celebrating their talents, contributions and creating new opportunities for them to shine. As part of Year of Young People, the Edinburgh International Book Festival has been working with a group of ten pupils aged 8-14 from schools in Craigmillar in Edinburgh to co-design a strand of events in the 2018 Book Festival programme exploring the concept of Freedom.  The project, mysteriously titled Codename F, covers topics chosen by the young Co-Programmers including gender, religion, women’s rights, the environment and free speech.

The young Co-Programmers are drawn from schools in Craigmillar including Holyrood Secondary School, Castlebrae Community High School, St Francis CE Primary School and Niddrie Mill Primary School.  The seven secondary pupils were introduced to the Book Festival by their school librarians, and the three primary pupils through their work with Lyra Theatre.

Codename F is supported by the Year of Young People 2018 event fund, managed by EventScotland, part of VisitScotland’s Events Directorate, and the Young Co-Programmers chose the name themselves because “It sounds secret & mysterious and our theme is Freedom.”  The group explored a range of topics including the environment, gender politics and surveillance, and has selected nine events in the Festival including one in the Baillie Gifford Schools Programme, featuring authors including Helen Duggan, Christopher Edge, Hayley Barker, Mary Watson, Alexis Deacon, Joe Todd-Stanton and, in a unique collaboration born at the Book Festival, Michael Morpurgo and French graphic novelist Barroux. 

Read the full story here