World Book and Copyright Day

Last year, April 20, 2007 to be exact, we published an entry on the World Book and Copyright Day.

from Booktopia

Celebrate World Book and Copyright Day at the Filipinas Heritage Library in Makati. This is a whole day event with prominent writers like National Artist Virgilio Almario and award-winning fictionits Beth Dalisay and Susan Lara talking about their creative processes and their works.

In the afternoon, there will be an extensive discussion on copyright by experts in the field to enlighten copyright owners (like writers, illustrators and publishers) and copyright users (schools, media, libraries)

The event is free of charge. Please call 920-9853 or 926-8238 and look for Lily or Minda.

from Unesco

By celebrating this Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property though copyright.

23 April: a symbolic date for world literature for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejia Vallejo. It was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone, and in particular 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.

The idea for this celebration originated in Catalonia where on 23 April, Saint George's Day, a rose is traditionally given as a gift for each book sold. The success of the 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 mobilized in each country by UNESCO National Commissions, UNESCO Clubs, Centres and Associations, Associated Schools and Libraries, and by all those who feel motivated to work together in this world celebration of books and authors.