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“Indeed, books are vital vehicles to access, transmit and promote education, science, culture, and information worldwide.”
— Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO,
on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day 2022
April 23 is marked as World Book and Copyright Day to promote the enjoyment of books and reading and also to provide recognition to the scope of books. Another reason for selecting April 23 to celebrate World Book and Copyright Day is that three great authors, namely Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare, and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega passed away on this Day.
UNESCO promotes creativity, diversity, and equal access to knowledge on this Day. On the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO, along with various international organizations (mainly representing publishers, booksellers, and libraries), selected the World Book Capital to maintain for a year, the impetus of this Day’s celebrations.
The Mexican city of Guadalajara shall be the World Book Capital for the year 2022. It will carry on a year-long program to focus on the role of books and reading in bringing peace and combating violence, and triggering social change.
Accra (Ghana) Named UNESCO World Book Capital 2023
The Director-General of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, has named Accra (Ghana) as UNESCO World Book Capital for 2023, following the evaluation of the World Book Capital Advisory Committee.
After Guadalajara (Mexico) in 2022, the city of Accra was selected for its strong focus on young people and their potential to contribute to the culture and wealth of Ghana. Accra’s proposed program seeks to use the power of books to engage these young people as an effective way of skilling up the next generation.
The city proposed to the committee a broad program that targets marginal groups with high levels of illiteracy, including women, youth, migrants, street children, and persons with disabilities. Measures to be implemented include reinforcing school and community infrastructure and institutional support for lifelong learning to foster the culture of reading. The program aims to encourage professional skills development to stimulate the country’s socio-economic transformation by championing the publishing sector and other creative industries.
Activities will include the introduction of mobile libraries to reach marginalized groups, the holding of workshops to promote reading and writing of books in different Ghanaian languages, the establishment of skills and training centers for unemployed youth, and the organization of competitions to showcase Ghanaian arts and culture and promote inclusivity.
The application from Accra also includes a strong human rights dimension, which aims to raise public awareness about freedom of information and expression, building on its own promotion of these rights as well as its involvement in World Press Freedom Day.
The year of celebrations will start on April 23, 2023, on World Book and Copyright Day.
Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital undertake to promote books and reading for all ages and population groups, within and across national borders, and organize a program of activities for the year.
For more information-
https://en.unesco.org/commemorations/worldbookday
https://en.unesco.org/news/accra-named-unesco-world-book-capital-2023
Mahak Rathee
Global Representative (India)
Roya Institute of Global Justice