Azerbaijan National Academy of Science

On this day in 1616 M.Servantes, W. Shakespeare and Inka Garcilaso de la Vega passed away. It is also the birthday or death of such famous authors as Maurice Druon, Halldour Laxness, J. Pla and Manuel Mejia Vallejo.

General Conference of UNESCO decided to pay tribute to books and authors on this day, urging everyone, and especially young people, to enjoy reading and respect the indispensable contribution of those who contributed to the social and cultural progress of mankind. Then the World Book and Copyright Day and the UNESCO Prize for the Promotion of Tolerance Ideas in Children's and Youth Literature were established.

The decision was made for the purpose of education, development, awareness of cultural traditions, and also taking into account the fact that books are the greatest means of spreading knowledge, the most reliable way to preserve it. The resolution notes the effectiveness of book exhibitions and fairs on this day.

Annually, the number of various initiatives and events timed to this Day is growing, and their geography is expanding. Among the most popular in many countries of the world traditionally are book fairs and exhibitions, public readings of works of world classics of literature and various cultural and entertainment events.

There is another tradition in today's holiday - every year since 2001, this day is called the city, which is awarded the title of the World Book Capital (awarded for 1 year). The selection committee includes representatives of UNESCO and three international professional book publishing organizations - the International Union of Publishers (ISU), the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and the International Book Trade Federation (IFC).

Assignment of this title is a testament to the desire of cities to promote the development of book publishing and reading, as well as cooperation between the main partners in book publishing.

The world capital of the book of 2014 was the city of Port Harcourt (Nigeria).

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