MESSAGE OF THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL
ON THE OCCASION OF WORLD BOOK AND COPYRIGHT DAY
Paris, April 19 (No.2001-60) - On the occasion
of World Book and Copyright Day, celebrated on April 23, UNESCO Director-General
Koïchiro Matsuura issued the following
message:
"In this era of globalization, books are
an ally for cultural and linguistic diversity, for access to all learning and
for freedom and peace. The millions of people in some 80 countries who have
regularly participated since 1995 in World Book and Copyright Day celebrations
have well understood this notion.
"Books are an invaluable life-long
companion. In societies founded on writing as well as those which draw their
origin from oral traditions but later discovered writing, the act of writing is
cherished as the guardian of heritage and the expression of new creativity. It
is the key to progress in basic education, the fight against poverty and new
advances in communication and information technologies.
"That is why UNESCO, in accordance with
its Constitution, considers it indispensable, more than ever, to promote the
development of publishing, the free circulation of books, and their access to
the public. Protecting writers against the unauthorised exploitation of their
work is a corollary of this. This is why UNESCO equally encourages countries to
develop national policy in this field, in order to assure that writers receive a
fair share of the revenue from their work.
"Because they serve in diverse ways to
promote development, books are a tool for progress. Because they are foremost
the expression of one's thoughts, an expression of being, books help humanize
our world."
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