World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of The Book, is a yearly event organized by UNESCO to encourage reading, publishing, and copyright. The first opening of World Book Day was celebrated in April 23, 1995 and has been recognized every year since then. A connected event in the United Kingdom and Ireland is similarly noticed in March. On the occurrence of World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO alongside the optional committee from the major segments of the book industry, selected cites agree to promote books and reading for all regions of society in the host country and after.
Each designed World Book Capital Day was conducted on a program of interests to celebrate and read.
According to UNESCO, storytelling is an incredibly effective tool when it comes to educating younger generations. The day is additionally resolute by paying respect to renewed authors including William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega who had on this day.
The city of Strasburg displays the event’s rich history and cultural heritage, had been recognized as UNESCO’s World Book Capital for 2024. The city’s history was full of symbols of its relationship with writing, books and thoughts. Strasburg was taken for its focus on books to meet the challenges of social tensions and climate change with a couple of programs like Reading for the Planet. The city highlights the ability of books to encourage debate and discussion of environmental concerns in addition to scientific knowledge focusing on young people as agents of change.
Strasburg was also committed to its scholarly heritage and the cultural activities it organized, highlighting artistic disciplines such as music and theater.
The original idea was conceived in 1922 by Vicente Clavel, who was the director of Cervantes publishing house in Barcelona to honor the author Miguel de Cervantes and improve the sales of books. It was first celebrated on Oct. 7, 1926, on Cervantes’s birthday before being moved to death date on April 23, 1930. In Catalonia, the celebration agreed with Saint George’s Day in commendation to its patron saint and as a result, the book day fused with the original festivity and with great popularity in Catalonia where it is also referred to as The Day of Books and Roses.
In 1995, The UNESCO general conference decided to authors, readers and books worldwide as a way of encouraging everyone to access books. Choosing April 23 seemed a reasonable choice besides being the date of Cervantes’s death as it also happens to be the date of William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, among other important authors. Additionally, numerous distinguished authors were born on April 23 making it emblematic date in the world of literature.
Across the world, there are many other dates on which World Book Day takes places in the UK, Ireland, US, Spain and Sweden to celebrate the holiday on different dates.
World Book Day is important because it promotes a love of reading from people, fosters knowledge and celebrates the power of books to shape minds what is more improving our lives. It even encouraged reading for enjoyment and relaxation among young people by helping to fight the bad effects of digital media on brain development.
The holiday emphasizes the importance of equal access to books and education with many organizations using the reason to promote literacy programs and donating books to disadvantaged communities.
