World Book Day 2021: History, significance of UNESCO-recognised day to celebrate world literature

Every year on 23 April, World Book Day is celebrated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as a symbolic date for world literature. Even during the pandemic, books are helping people to cope with loneliness and isolation. On this day, UNESCO encourages people to challenge themselves, to explore new topics, formats, or genres out of our ordinary. On Friday, UNESCO said, “Our goal is to engage people in reading, and to have fun doing so! As a celebration of this year’s World’s Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO has created a ‘Bookface’ challenge”. Every year, UNESCO selects a ‘World Book Capital’ for a one-year time period, which is effective from 23 April. So, for 2021, the city of Tbilisi in Georgia has been selected as the World Book Capital. World Book Day 2021: History It all began in 1995, when UNESCO decided to celebrate 23 April as World Book Day or World Book and Copyright Day. Since then, the date has been marked in the history of literature. This day also marks the death and birth anniversaries of authors such as Maurice Druon, Haldor K. Laxness, Vladimir Nabokov, Josep Pla, and Manuel Mejía Vallejo. Hence, the day has been selected to pay tribute to the great literary figures. World Book Day 2021: Celebration On this special occasion, several events are organized across the world but this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all programmes have been cancelled. People, who are working from home or spending time at home will take time out and download a good book from the internet.

The sure cure for cabin fever: one dose of imagination and one click to the World Digital Library for free access to thousands of books, documents & photos from all countries and cultures.

Happy #WorldBookDay!

Check it out here: https://t.co/0YQora8TRJ pic.twitter.com/xVdeYufjO1

— UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 (@UNESCO) April 22, 2021