April 23 is World Book and Copyright Day 2026. when UNESCO celebrates the power of books as a bridge between generations and across cultures.
World Book and Copyright Day promotes books and reading across all age groups in the designated host country and beyond.This year’s World Book Capitol is Rabat in Morocco.
Just some highlights of UNESCO’s programme:
- UNESCO declared the Universal Copyright Convention in 1952 to extend international copyright protection.
- 26 World Book Capitals have been designated by UNESCO around the world since 2001.
- 63 cities belong to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and include literature in their strategies for sustainable development.
- A UNESCO report for this year examines Africa’s book industry for its economic and cultural potential
Publishing industry got ‘copyright’ embedded in there.
If you read the prospectus, it has more to do with respecting artists and ideas. It’s a high ideal and that’s what we need UNESCO to remind us of. It’s complicated by copyright and IP being so highly political and commercialized.