A celebration of books
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) is celebrating World Book and Copyright Day today to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright.
The day was first celebrated in 1996 to recognise and honour writers and readers for their contribution towards bringing love and beauty to this disturbed and chaotic world. April 23 is a symbolic date for world literature because on this date, in the year 1616, Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega died. It is also the date of the deaths of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, Halldor K. Laxness, Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov, Joseph Pla and Manuel MejÃŒa Vallejo. It was a natural choice for Unesco’s General Conference to pay a worldwide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, particularly young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.
Interestingly, the idea for this celebration originated in Catalonia, Spain, where on April 23, (Saint George’s Day) a rose is traditionally given as a gift for each book sold. The success of World Book and Copyright Day will depend primarily on the support received from all parties concerned (authors, publishers, teachers, librarians, public and private institutions, humanitarian NGOs and the mass media), who have been mobilised in each country by the Unesco National Commissions, Unesco Clubs, Associated Schools and Libraries, and by all those who feel motivated enough to work together in this international celebration of books and authors. This day has a special significance in South Asia where scant attention is given to the matters of intellectual rights. Books are printed and sold in the market without paying royalties to authors or their appointed literary agents.
Koichiro Matsuura, Director General Unesco, in his message on the 12th World Book and Copyright Day said that “Much has been said about the book as the driving force behind a wide array of income-generating activities, and about the role of the books within today’s economies as an instrument for learning, sharing and updating knowledge”. He also added, “Of course, the linguistic dimension of publishing, an instrument of expression that lives through language, and within a language, has also been emphasised and remains a decisive factor. Lastly, as there can be no book development without copyright, the celebration of the day has always been closely associated, from its inception and throughout all these years, with an awareness of the importance of the moral and heritage protection afforded to works of the human spirit and their creators”.
Source: The News
Date:4/23/2007
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