What is World Book Day?
World Book Day is a celebration of books of all kinds and all the benefits books have to offer — whether it be teaching life lessons, facilitating curiosity and education, or promoting wellness and positive mental health. In a way, books enable education, literacy, and freedom of expression. So, by extension, World Book Day is also a celebration of books as instruments for supporting and promoting human rights.
The importance of books to society
The relevance and importance of books goes with saying. Although lacking a real voice, books can be the most articulate and resonant form of expression there is. From biographies to fantasies, books embody the voice of facts as well as that of imagination. They can educate, inform, and teach life lessons. According to UNESCO, books can “ . . . help us share ideas, obtain information, and inspire admiration for different cultures, enabling far-reaching forms of dialogue between people across space and time.”
Despite the countless advantages to reading, however, not all are privy to these benefits. In many areas, youth, women, and those with disabilities are deprived of the right to education and literacy due to marginalization. As such, this occasion is also an important day to spread literacy and education through books so that everyone can behold the sheer joy of the human expression and imagination.
World Book Day 2023 celebrations
The ordinary and automatic thought to buy books online is simply non-existent in low-income areas. It is reported that 61% of households in low-income communities are unable to provide books for their children. This unfortunately can lead to poor literacy rates later in life which can negatively impact higher education and job opportunities. Therefore, every World Book Day, UNESCO names a city as the World Book Capital to use books to promote literacy and education in that area for an entire year. The World Book Capital for 2023 is Accra in Ghana. As such, the program for this year includes numerous reading and writing workshops both in English and the native languages of Ghana. These programs and many more are designed to empower the unemployed youth and others who have been negatively impacted by illiteracy. Books can serve as their voice in the ever-shifting and uncertain political climate of our global society.
UNESCO BMW’s Involvement
UNESCO BMW organizes many events with libraries for youth and children. Numerous interactive events include storytelling and book reading events for kids as well as story and poem writing workshops for youth. We are an organization that deeply values inner creativity through visual arts, books, and poems. Additionally, UNESCO BMW has published multiple books, the proceeds from which will go to support our organization’s vision.
UNESCO BMW’s vision
Our vision is to share and preserve the cultural and artistic heritage from around the world along with facilitating respect for Mother Earth all of which is supported by inner peace through meditation with free mentoring. UNESCO BMW is entirely nonprofit and aims to promote inner peace practices, encouragements of arts and crafts as well as protection of the ecosystem. Support us by donating and becoming a member of the organization, or by registering as a volunteer.
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