BOOKS: Dear book lovers, your day is here; please step in
Friday April 17 2020
More than ever, the power of books should be leveraged to combat isolation, reinforce ties between people. SHUTTERSTOCK
The World Book and Copyright Day will be marked on April 23 by book lovers around the world confined in their homes, thanks to the coronavirus pandemic.
April 23 is a symbolic date in world literature. It is the date on which several prominent authors, William Shakespeare, Miguel Cervantes and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died.
This date was a natural choice for Unesco’s General Conference, held in Paris, France in 1995, to pay a worldwide tribute to books and authors on this date, encouraging everyone to access books.
Open Access
By championing books and copyright, Unesco stands up for creativity, diversity and equal access to knowledge, with the work across the board—from the Creative Cities of Literature network to promoting literacy and mobile learning and advancing Open Access to scientific knowledge and educational resources.
“More than ever, at a time when most of the schools around the world are closed and people are having to limit to spent their time outside, the power of books should be leveraged to combat isolation, reinforce ties between people, expand our horizons, while stimulating our minds and creativity,” Unesco said in a statement commemorating the day.
“During the month of April and all year round, it is critical to take the time to read on your own or with your children. It is a time to celebrate the importance of reading, foster children’s growth as readers and promote a lifelong love of literature and integration into the world of work,” Unesco added in the statement.
The power of books lies in the fact that readers open themselves to other people, ideas, and cultures despite the physical distance, Basically one can travel thanks to writers’ imagination.
Importance of creators
Staring April 1, Unesco has been sharing quotes, poems and messages to symbolise the power of books and encouraging reading as much as possible. This will go on until April 23.
By creating a sense of community through the shared readings and the shared knowledge, readers around the world can connect and mutually overcome loneliness brought on by lockdowns, curfews and social distancing.
“It means we have to be more creative how we celebrate the day, may be in a way that has never been done before. Many people are reading a lot more than they were doing before. We can create more copyrighted texts during ‘stay home’ or recognise the importance of creators,” Ugandan author, Beatrice Lamwaka, told The EastAfrican.
Eric Falt and Pratha Pratim Das observe in their paper titled Digital libraries can ensure continuity as Covid-19 puts brakes to academic activity,” thus: “As the world responds to the Covid-19 pandemic, most governments have temporarily closed all educational institutions. These nationwide closures have impacted 90 per cent of the world’s student population. Localised closures in other countries have affected millions of additional learners.”
Consequently, there is a transition to distance learning on an unprecedented scale. Institutions are racing to shift their courses online; students are engaging en masse with e-books and e-learning; and researchers are drawing chiefly on electronic journals.
As an emergency response, Unesco has launched the Global Education Coalition to help countries scale up their best distance learning practices, Falt and Das add.
“This year, as we observe World Book and Copyright Day under these extraordinary circumstances, let us celebrate the primacy of digital libraries as knowledge portals and their contribution to sustainable development,” Falt and Das added.