A world of books. Photo Credit Shutterstock Triff
Happy World Book and Copyright Day, it might seem like a bit of a mouthful, but for those bookworms amongst us April 23 is a UNESCO event celebrating books and authors.
But why do we celebrate the worldwide event? And what is its purpose? April 23, according to UNESCO, “holds immense symbolism in world literature, marking the death of several renowned authors.” The English William Shakespeare and the Spanish Miguel de Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, are amongst those whose legacy is remembered on World Book and Copyright Day. A legacy that focuses with hope on education and literacy around the world.
World Book Day’s origins are firmly rooted in Spanish literary history and culture.
The original world book day actually began in Spain. According to the association of publishers: “The celebration goes back to ‘La Diada de Sant Jordi’, or the Festival of St George, which is Catalunya’s version of Valentine’s Day, when people give each other red roses—but also books.” The festival of Saint George falls on April 23.
But Spain’s association with World Book day goes even further than this, as according to the association of publishers in 1995, “the UNESCO Director General, Federico Mayor- a Spanish scientist, scholar, politician, diplomat and poet sent a letter to Pere Vicens, president of the Spanish Publishers Association (La Federación de Gremios de Editores de España), informing him that UNESCO had unanimously decided to declare the 23rd of April as ‘World Book and Copyright Day”.
Although in many countries there are separate World Book Days as with The UK and Ireland both of which celebrate the event in early March.
How is UNESCO celebrating this year?
World Book and Copyright Day brings libraries, publishers and authors together to celebrate in UNESCO’s words “the power of books.” Each year since 2001 a city has been chosen as A World Book Capital, this year it was the turn Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The city is using the event to begin a project showing how books can influence socio-economic changes, focusing on literacy, education and the eradication of poverty.
The UNESCO Director General, Audrey Azoulay said that “Books in all their forms, allow us to learn and keep ourselves informed. They also entertain us and help us to understand the world.”
Multilingualism is a key component in literacy worldwide and UNESCO use World Book and Copyright Day as a platform to advocate for multilingual educational resources, just as they did on Mother Language Day back in February. Here in Spain there are book sharing events and much more to take part in all over the country, visit your Town Hall’s social media to find out what they have planned.
Discover more world events here.
