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World
Book and Copyright Day (23 April 2002)
Message by the Director-General
"Books are a fundamental means of access to knowledge of values,
wisdom, aesthetic sense and human imagination. As vectors of creation,
information and education, they allow every culture to print their
essential features and to see the identity of others. As a window
on the diversity of cultures and a bridge between civilizations,
beyond time and space, books are a source of dialogue, a means of
exchange and a source of development.
For
all of these reasons, UNESCO has celebrated World Book and Copyright
Day since 1996, on the 23rd of April, with the participation of
millions of people representing a hundred countries. Devoted to
the promotion of reading and writing, in addition to copyright,
which is closely associated, the occasion aims to bring out the
various aspects of books, be they creative, industrial, standard-setting,
political, national and international. The celebration of the United
Nations' Year for Cultural Heritage in 2002 is a particularly appropriate
event.
UNESCO
has indicated two major themes to celebrate the year: "Heritage
and Dialogue" and "Heritage and Development." Books
and copyright exemplify these themes. As a protector of memory and
a vector for creativity, a book is both a receptacle for words and
a mechanism for the exchange of ideas, an incomparable instrument
and a reproducible object, an echo-chamber of feeling and a source
of revenue, an original work and a mirror of the social climate.
Books represent a heritage that is specifically rooted in distinct
cultural traditions and which is continually evolving through interaction
with other traditions, in relation to and in dialogue with the Other.
The
celebration of World Book and Copyright Day in 2002 is an opportunity
to consider the major contribution of books to the cultural heritage
and thereby spark new initiatives from the fertile interaction between
the pages - be it in printed or in electronic form - and the cultural
wealth of humanity, both tangible and intangible.
By
safeguarding and adding to the cultural heritage of humanity, we
maintain a synergy whose finest support comes from books".
Koïchiro Matsuura
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Executive Office of the Director-General
Spokeswoman
Telephone : (33.1) 45.68.13.26
Fax : (33.1) 45.68.55.66
E-mail: m.de-pierrebourg@unesco.org
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