World Book and Copyright Day
From Freepedia
World Book and Copyright Day is a yearly event organised by UNESCO to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. The Day was first celebrated in 1995.
World Book and Copyright day is celebrated on April 23. This date was chosen as a symbolic date for world literature for it was on this date in 1616 that three luminaries of world literature all died: Miguel de Cervantes, William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. Notice that because the Spanish Empire followed the Gregorian calendar and England the Julian calendar, that same date does not match the same day. It also also happens to be the date of birth or death of other prominent authors such as Maurice Druon, Halldór Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla and Manuel Mejía Vallejo.
The idea for the celebration originated in Catalonia, an autonomous community of Spain, where on April 23, St George's Day, males and females traditionally exchange a rose for the gift of a book.
External links
- World Book and Copyright Day at UNESCO
- Message of the Director-General of UNESCO on the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day - 23 April 2005
