Books have always fascinated me. It was all thanks to my parents, who gifted me my first set of Ladybird books long before I had learnt to read. I would sit looking at the pictures while my Mum read out the lines that accompanied those fascinating and captivating illustrations on every colourful page. And soon, I was away, reliving the fear of Red Riding Hood as she walked through the forest or huffing and puffing with the three little pigs as the wolf blew their house in. Reading a book every day on returning home from school soon became a habit – I would read first with my parents, then by myself as soon as I began to read independently, perhaps when I was five or six years old.
Books have been my companions ever since. So, imagine my surprise when I recently discovered that in 1995, UNESCO had decided to dedicate a day, April 23, as a day the world would observe World Book and Copyright Day to promote reading with the objective of making books your friends!
April 23 was so chosen as the day marks the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. Coincidentally, it also marks the birthday or death anniversary of several other well-known authors.
UNESCO's USP
UNESCO’s USP for the day is based on a simple home truth. “Through reading and the celebration of World Book and Copyright Day, 23 April, we can open ourselves to others despite distance, and we can travel thanks to imagination.” And so, every year, on this day, “UNESCO encourages you to challenge yourself to explore new topics, formats, or genres that are out of the ordinary.”
The aim is to make people take to reading and to have the time of their life while they do so. Ask readers what they get out of reading and they will tell you that books are their friends for life, their companions on a lonely day, their ‘comforters’ as it is always a good book that lulls them to sleep and is their guide and philosopher. It is through the pages of books, that they get invaluable advice to cope with life.
Theme
The theme for 2022 is simple and unique, and so true for all readers: Read…so you never feel alone. This has never proved so true as during the pandemic with its long lockdowns, and with the social isolation and restrictions on travel and social gatherings that it brought in its wake. And the pandemic is still raging.
The World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated all over the world in many unique ways. There are readings by celebrated authors in parks, street corners and book stores and people are encouraged to gift books to introduce people and youngsters to the wonderful world of books and knowledge. Books have the potential to be the companions and saviours of many people. With a good book as your companion, one can never feel alone, and the pandemic reminded us of the importance of books and reading for comfort and gaining widsom!
Says Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO, on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day 2022:
"Indeed, books are vital vehicles to access, transmit and promote education, science, culture and information worldwide."
There is also a broader purpose that UNESCO has in mind by choosing April 23 as a day to celebrate World Book and Copyright Day, each year. And that is to celebrate and recognize the scope of books, which are links between the past and the future and are bridges between generations and across cultures. UNESCO and the international organizations that represent the three major sectors of the book industry -- publishers, booksellers and libraries, select a World Book Capital for a year to maintain, through several initiatives, the impetus of the Day’s celebrations.
World Book Capital: Guadalajara, Mexico
This year, UNESCO has chosen a city in Mexico, Guadalajara as the World Book Capital of the year. As the UNESCO website says, “Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital undertake to carry out activities with the aim of encouraging a culture of reading and diffusing its values in all ages and population groups in and out of the national borders. Through the World Book Capital program, UNESCO acknowledges the cities commitment for promoting books and fostering reading during a 12 months period between one World Book and Copyright Day and the next.
This year, Guadalajara was selected for its comprehensive plan for policies around books to trigger social change, combat violence and build a culture of peace.
Let us hope this culture of peace succeeds. The world needs it more than ever now.
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