World Book Day and its Significance in the 21st Century
Books can be best described as one of the greatest reservoir of history where knowledge is acquired and information is transferred from one generation to another and its significance in the 21st century cannot be overlooked.
The history of book dated back to the 16th century where the first ever book titled: “The Book of the Dead” was produced in Egypt before the emergence of the digital form in the 21st century.
Ever since the first publication, there have been a renaissance and crave for information and trends which were predominantly found in books.
Hence, people started to get themselves acquainted with trends in the world of books, as there has been vast development in the mass production of books as a result of advancements in technology in recent times.
Based on the fore going, World Book Day was introduced on 23 April 1995 by UNESCO. It is a one-day festival, which is celebrated in over 100 countries all over the globe.
The idea of celebrating books at the end of April originally came from booksellers in Catalonia, Spain, in 1923.
This was when writer Vicente Clavel Andres wanted to honour fellow Author Miguel de Cervantes who died on this date. It is also coincidentally the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare.
It is quite imperative to acknowledge that books have now translated from the awkward way it was centuries back to what we have it to be today; as digital books have taken over the conventional ones.
Today, readers can get easy access to books of their choice online once they have aided internet facilities at their disposal.
Based on observation, readers get bored easily while reading the conventional books (analogue) but get fascinated to the digital books due to its numerous features that the former fails to give its readers.
In contemporary times, PDFs, Adobe readers, Ebooks among other electronic means are some of the facilities that readers employ to get access to digitalised books.
World book Day is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and reading around the world. It is a great day devoted for all book lovers all over the globe to come together to celebrate the significance of books as tool for national development and agents of change.
Also, World Book Day is for schoolchildren of all ages, with the primary aim of encouraging children to explore books and the joy of reading. It is a means to influence students and get them acquainted with the world of books especially in the 21st century where books have now become the commonest tool for advocating for change in all sphere of life.
Subsequently, educationists like Prof. Theodora Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo, former Head, Department of English, University of Lagos and Rev. Father John Damian Adizie lending their voices on this historic day affirmed that reading culture among school children can be said to have improved a little, but mostly with international schools.
According to the former, “I should say the culture is still improving but mainly in private schools. Reading culture has not really permeated in local or state schools.
“We need to do more work in the local and state schools. International and private schools are trying by providing books and learning materials to help the children, but schools in the rural areas suffers some sort of neglects.
“There is a need to make books available to primary and secondary public schools.
“Although economic situation in the country are not really helping matters as some parents cannot afford books for their ward after paying school fees. Government has to come in to make reading materials available.
“As an individual, I have made effort to donate some of my books to some schools which of course may not go around.”
Speaking further, she said; “If there are libraries, people can go there and borrow books free. Government should not buy books individually for people but with libraries in the schools and cities, then such can go a long way to help. In the absence of that, government can make book available to schools free.”
In his words, Rev Fr. John Damian Adizie, author of Many Youth inspirational books opined that a neglect of book or reading culture in the foundational stage of a child is an unforeseen doom and bleak future for such child.
“A book is a powerful and influential weapon of knowledge acquisition. Books have influenced and inspired the lives of people. Children cannot do without books which forms their fundamental platform during developmental stage for knowledge acquisition, entertainment, imaginative and creative thinking.” Fr. Adizie said.
While lamenting on the declining of reading culture among youths in Nigeria, Fr. Adizie noted that certain factors militate against that. He said: “Unfortunately, here in Nigeria and some parts of Africa our reading culture has not improved as expected, especially now that the media has taken the best part of our children. Most of them spend endless time watching movies, football matches or chatting on facebook, whatsapp and other social media network. The idea of reading book, especially literature as a hobby, is gradually fading.”
Also lending her voice on the occasion of the World Book Day and Copyright Day, Ms Rina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO asserted that: “World Book and Copyright Day is an opportunity to highlight the power of books to promote our vision of knowledge societies that are inclusive, pluralistic, equitable, open and participatory for all citizens.”
“It is said that how a society treats its most vulnerable is a measure of its humanity. When we apply this measure to the availability of books to those with visual impairments and those with learning or physical disabilities (with different causes), we are confronted with what can only be described as a ‘book famine’. Ms Rina Bokova said.
“According to the World Blind Union approximately one in every 200 people on earth- 39 million of us− cannot see. Another 246 million have severely reduced vision. These ‘visually impaired persons’ or ‘persons with print disability’ can access an estimated 10% of all written information and literary works that sighted people can read.” She said.
Based on the aforementioned, it is deemed necessary to dedicate a day for the celebration of book across the globe in order to aid reading culture and in turn inculcate a sense of development in the minds of the people, the youths particularly. This shows the significant role books play in the 21st century where technology has now taken over all human endeavours. Thus, books serve as weapon for changing the world and making it the best place to live in.
Going forward, World Book Day is celebrated to promote reading, publishing and copyright.
It is an occasion to celebrate the contribution of books and authors to our global culture and connection between copyright and books. World Book Day is an occasion to pay a worldwide tribute to books and authors.
On this Day, many activities are held to promote reading and cultural aspects of books all over the world. It is an International Day that is celebrated by buying and reading some exciting and funny books from the market or popular book stores where all the favourite books based on brands, characters or authors are available.
At this day, some young people including children are awarded for their better performance for novels, short stories or picture books promoting peace, tolerance, understanding and respect among each other for other cultures and traditions. A different poster is designed every year based on the particular theme of the year and distributed among people around the world. Posters are designed in such a way to encourage people and children to read more books.
This year theme is “Share A Story” and adults, parents and older siblings are encouraged to participate by reading and sharing stories. The organisers will be encouraging the nation to ‘Take 10’ and recognise the positive impact that reading together for only 10 minutes a day can have on a child. As you celebrate this year theme, ensure you save a life by sharing a story. Happy World Book Day.