Resolution of the TWENTY-EIGHTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF UNESCO, (Paris, 25 October-16 November 1995):
Proclamation of 23 April 'World Book and Copyright Day'
Resolution TWENTY-EIGHTH SESSION OF THE GENERAL CONFERENCE OF UNESCO (Paris, 25 October-16 November 1995)
3.18 Proclamation of 23 April 'World Book and Copyright Day' Resolution adopted at the twenty-second plenary meeting, on 15 November 1995
The General Conference,
Considering that historically books have been the most powerful factor in the dissemination of knowledge and the most effective means of preserving it,
Considering consequently that all moves to promote their dissemination will serve not only greatly to enlighten all those who have access to them, but also to develop fuller collective awareness of cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire behaviour based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue,
Considering that one of the potentially most effective ways to promote and to disseminate books - as shown by the experience of several UNESCO Member States - is the establishment of a 'Book Day' and the organization of events such as book fairs and exhibitions on the same day,
Noting furthermore that this idea has not yet been adopted at international level,
Adopts the above-mentioned idea and proclaims 23 April of every year 'World Book and Copyright Day', as it was on that date in 1616 that Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega died.
For the 2009 edition of the Day, UNESCO suggests to explore the topic of the paramount function of books for the development of quality education, as well as the link between publishing and human rights.
The World Book and Copyright Day Day was celebrated in the UK in Ireland earlier this month, on Thursday 5 March and around 13 million book tokens were distributed in schools and pre-schools in the UK to promote reading.
Events for April 23rd :
A series of events wille take place on 23rd April at UNESCO Headquarters. A "big read", a round table on literate environments and the official launching of the Beirut World Book Capital City 2009, are included in the program of Day. Contact: m.rosi@unesco.org
WBCD poster exhibition at the Medical School of the Seoul National University. Contact: soyoung@unesco.or.kr.
A special edition of Mauritius Library Information Blog will be published for 23rd of April : http://liamofmauritius.wordpress.com
The State Library of Victoria (Australia) is launching a major new exhibition called The Independent Type: Books and Writing in Victoria on Thursday 23rd April 2009 to celebrate Melbourne's new status as a UNESCO City of Literature. The exhibition will explore the history of writing in the state of Victoria from pre-contact times until the present day. Information available at http://www.slv.vic.gov.au/goto/independent-type in April 2009.
The National Library of Luxembourg organizes the World Book and Copyright Day at Grand Duché of Luxembourg from 23rd to 25th April 2009. Program and information available at www.liesen.lu
The Coalición de Libreros (Booksellers Association) of Mexico organizes a series of event from 16 to 26 April at the Explanada de la Presidencia Municipal, in Tacamac. The main event is a reading marathon taking place on 23 April.
Melbourne Conversations is launching a public meeting with the philosopher and writer Alain De Botton. The event will be held on Thursday 23rd Avril, at 6.30 PM at RMIT Stoney Hall Auditorium, Melbourne, Australie. Reservations and information: events@reading.com.au
The National Commission of Andorra for UNESCO organizes a public reading on Thursday 23rd April.The event will take place at Andorra la Vella village's square.More information: cnau.unesco@andorra.ad
The WBCC programme of the Nigeria National Committee on Read Campaign includes the following activities: reading competition for school pupils; celebrity reading in mother language; art and book exhibition. Contact: francescaedeghere@yahoo.com
The Steering Copyright Committee of Colombia organizes three international seminaries from 20th to 24th April in Bogotá and Medellín.The three seminaries focus on copyright, cultural industries and audiovisual sector.Information: www.derechodeautor.gov.co
On the 23rd of April, the association of editors and bookstores in Bosnia-Herzegovina organises several events dedicated to the World Book and Copyright Day in the context of the 21st Sarajevo International Book Fair which will be held from the 22th to 27th April 2009.
The Pakistan Library Council organises a walk from Press Club to Arts Council in Karachi on the 25th April 2009 for celebrating the World Book and Copyright Day. More information: http://paklibcouncil.weebly.com/activities.html
The Children's Art Institute of Toronto celebrates the IV centenary of the first publication of "Comentarios Reales" ( Royal Commentaries) of Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. This event will be held on 23 April 2009 at the University of Toronto at 7.00 p.m. Information: teresa.chavezsuarez@utoronto.ca
The Association France - Catalan Country - Algeria organizes an event entitled "The Caravan Catalan" inclduing a number of economic and cultural activities to strengthen the links between Algeria and the Mediterranean countries. The second stage of this event will be held from April 22 to 24 among Spain, Algeria and Tunisia, at the framework of World Book and Copyright Day ( traditionally called "The Book and Rose Day" in Catalonia). Information: http://afrancemediterraneee.free.fr/telechargements.htm
The Café Iruña y La Granja in Bilbao ( Basque country, Spain) takes part in the celebration of the World Book and Copyright Day on Thursday 23rd of April by offering a book to all its customers. Information: http://www.cafesdebilbao.net
The Alma Library of India organizes an exhibition on the "Copyright Awareness Campaign" . Information: www.niapune.com
The Catalan Institute of America held an event at the Barnes & Noble’s store at the Lincoln Triangle in New York on Sunday April 19th to celebrate the World Book and Copyright Day and the tradition of "Sant Jordi", with the participation of UNESCO.
The Korean Publishers Society (KOPUS) organizes a series of events from 20 to 30 April, including flowers, books and poster donations, as well as the brodcast of a documentary film on books and reading on the Korean Broadcasting System. Contact: kopus@kopus.org; eakim@unesco.or.kr
In the framework of the National Program for the promotion of reading, the Institute of Culture of the Tabasco Government in Mexico organizes various activities of reading and books in its 572 public libraries on the 23rd of April.Contact:agv66@hotmail.com
The Publishers Association of Uruguay organizes a theatre event entitled "10 Characters in Search of a Reader" which will be held on Thursday 23 April from 12.30 a.m. to 6.30 p.m.in Montevideo. Information: clustereditorial.uy@gmail.com
The author of historical novels Yves Breton hosted a meeting at the Buckingham Creek School, Quebec, Canada, specially organized for the World Book and Copyright Day.
The National Commission of Nicaragua for Unesco and the Ministry of Education of Nicaragua celebrated the World Book and Copyright Day. The Permanent Secretary of the National Commission, Mr. Juan B. Arríen, read the message from the Director General of UNESCO.
The Kuwait National Council for Culture, Art and Letters organized lectures about reading and an exhibition of books for the 14th edition of the World Book and Copyright Day. Armenia has participated for the first time the World Book and Copyright Day with various actives by schools and students such as literary performance and public donation of books.
The Afghanistan celebrated the World Book and Copyright Day in Kabul with participation of Mr. Mobarez Rashedi and Mr. Zia Afshar, Deputy Ministers of Information and Culture, other Governmental Officials, University Professors and Book fans.The celebration focused on the importance of book in society and how to improve book and copyright situation in Afghanistan.
The University of Toronto represented by the Children Art's Institute celebrated the World Book and Copyright Day by organizing several activities including the homage to Shakespeare, Cervantes and Inca garcilaso de la vega.
Finally, the Sultan Qaboos University celebrated World Book and Copyright Day 2009 by organizing a special event to honor public Libraries in Oman. Speakers from the University delivered speeches about Reading & copyright issues. In addition the University provided free copies of its publications to public libraries.
23 April is a symbolic date for world literature for on this date in 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, Haldor K.Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.
It was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference, held in Paris in 1995, 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. In this respect, UNESCO created both the World Book and Copyright Day and the UNESCO Prize for Children's and Young People's Literature in the Service of Tolerance.
Books and Reading
Being one of the oldest means of communication and distribution, books not only have spiritual, educational and cultural implications, but also involve the legitimate industrial and economic aspects of the publishing trade.
The association of these two factors - cultural impact and economic interests - results in a complex system of parameters that may seem incompatible. Developing the publishing and reading universe requires understanding of the existing internal relations between the different elements comprising the book chain: Literary invention, the respective functions of the publisher, printer.
UNESCO's programme in this domain aims to support the action of every national and regional actors in the book chain. It is based on a participatory approach and on partnership with all professionals, political stakeholders and beneficiaries implied at both national and regional level.
Copyright
Copyright and neighboring rights protection is essential for enhancing individual creativity, for the development of cultural industries and the promotion of cultural diversity. Rampant piracy and low level of enforcement of copyright laws destroy the incentives for the creation and distribution of local cultural products in all the countries of the world and reveal the need for concerted efforts to encourage creativity and to foster sustainable development.
Committed to promoting copyright protection since its early days (the Universal Copyright Convention was adopted under UNESCO’s aegis in 1952), UNESCO has over time grown concerned with ensuring general respect for copyright in all fields of creation and cultural industries. It conducts, in the framework of the Global Alliance for Cultural Diversity, awareness-raising and capacity-building projects, in addition to information, training and research in the field of copyright law. It is particularly involved in developing new initiatives to fight against piracy.
The digital revolution has not left copyright protection unaffected. UNESCO endeavours to make a contribution to the international debate on this issue, taking into account the development perspective and paying particular attention to the need of maintaining the fair balance between the interests of authors and the interest of the general public of access to knowledge and information.
UNESCO’s tools:
* Basic Notions about Copyright and Related Rights (pdf)
* What is Copyright? Marcel Marceau mimes it
* UNESCO publications, including the e-Copyright Bulletin in six languages
* Collection of national copyright laws Anti-piracy
* Network of Copyright Chairs
* Guide to the Collective Administration of Author’s Rights (pdf), a useful tool for the development of collecting societies.
Intergovernmental Committees:
* Intergovernmental Copyright Committee
* Intergovernmental Committee of the Rome Convention
Literacy
Today one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women while 75 million children are out of school.
Since its foundation in 1946, UNESCO has been at the forefront of global literacy efforts and is dedicated to keeping literacy high on national, regional and international agendas. However, with some 776 million adults lacking minimum literacy skills, literacy for all remains an elusive target.
UNESCO’s literacy programmes aim to create a literate world and promote literacy for all.
Copyright and Related Rights
Copyright and related rights protect the rights of authors, performers, producers and broadcasters, and contribute to the cultural and economic development of nations. This protection fulfills a decisive role in articulating the contributions and rights of different stakeholders and the relation between them and the public. The purpose of copyright and related rights is twofold: to encourage a dynamic creative culture, while returning value to creators so that they can lead a dignified economic existence, and to provide widespread, affordable access to content for the public.
WIPO works on the development of international norms and standards in the area of copyright and related rights. The WIPO Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights is presently discussing important issues such as limitations and exceptions, the protection of audiovisual performances and the protection of broadcasting organizations.
Sources:
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=5425&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=38878&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://www.un.org/depts/dhl/book/index.html
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=13479&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=12313&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
http://www.unesco.org/en/literacy/
http://www.wipo.int/copyright/en/index.html