Opening a book is like opening a window onto another world: one that celebrates diversity and where anything is possible, limited only by the human imagination. On World Book and Copyright Day 2025, UNESCO celebrates the power of books to fuel the imagination and shape society. As we mark the 30th anniversary of this World Day, we also take this opportunity to reflect on the progress made in promoting literacy and universal access to books – while recognizing the challenges that remain. Over the past three decades, UNESCO has remained committed to promoting books and encouraging a culture of reading through not only its 53 Creative Cities of Literature, but also its network of World Book Capitals. This year, the designated World Book Capital of 2025, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, will showcase how books can bring about social change and create sustainable economic benefits, for example through its Book Parade and by opening new libraries in the most vulnerable areas of the city. Yet, for books to be able to unleash their full potential, they must reflect the wide linguistic diversity of our world. Many communities continue to lack sufficient resources in their mother languages, hindering literacy, education and the vital transmission of culture across generations. This is why, since 2023, UNESCO has been working to bring the illustrated book What Makes Us Human, by Victor D.O. Santos and Anna Forlati, to young readers in multiple languages. A Hawaiian edition of this book – which explores how linguistic and cultural diversity enrich humanity – was distributed to 4,000 students in February this year.And while new technologies hold the potential to expand access to books and publishing infrastructure, the digital divide continues to deepen inequalities across the global creative economy. In response to this, UNESCO has backed over a dozen projects to support the book sector and protect copyright through its International Fund for Cultural Diversity. This has included initiatives for Indigenous creators in Brazil’s digital publishing sector, as well as for stronger intellectual property rights in Ethiopia. Lastly, recognizing that the book and publishing industry is a key driver of sustainable development, UNESCO is currently mapping the sector’s expansion across Africa. The resulting report, to be released this year, will analyse publishing trends, challenges and opportunities for growth across our 54 African Member States, aiming to bolster the sector’s contribution to economic and social progress.The world cannot thrive without books. Line by line, page by page, they nourish our thoughts, help us to explore new possibilities and foster the creativity needed to address the complex challenges facing humanity. This “existential creativity,” coined by the Nigerian author Ben Okri, enables people to dedicate their lives “to nothing short of re-dreaming society.”On this World Book and Copyright Day, we reaffirm our support for readers and writers worldwide – because today, we need this creativity more than ever before.

23 April 2025Opening a book is like opening a window onto another world: one that celebrates diversity and where anything is possible, limited only by the human imagination. On World Book and Copyright Day 2025, UNESCO celebrates the power of books to fuel the imagination and shape society. As we mark the 30th anniversary of this World Day, we also take this opportunity to reflect on the progress made in promoting literacy and universal access to books – while recognizing the challenges that remain. Over the past three decades, UNESCO has remained committed to promoting books and encouraging a culture of reading through not only its 53 Creative Cities of Literature, but also its network of World Book Capitals. This year, the designated World Book Capital of 2025, Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, will showcase how books can bring about social change and create sustainable economic benefits, for example through its Book Parade and by opening new libraries in the most vulnerable areas of the city. Yet, for books to be able to unleash their full potential, they must reflect the wide linguistic diversity of our world. Many communities continue to lack sufficient resources in their mother languages, hindering literacy, education and the vital transmission of culture across generations. This is why, since 2023, UNESCO has been working to bring the illustrated book What Makes Us Human, by Victor D.O. Santos and Anna Forlati, to young readers in multiple languages. A Hawaiian edition of this book – which explores how linguistic and cultural diversity enrich humanity – was distributed to 4,000 students in February this year.And while new technologies hold the potential to expand access to books and publishing infrastructure, the digital divide continues to deepen inequalities across the global creative economy. In response to this, UNESCO has backed over a dozen projects to support the book sector and protect copyright through its International Fund for Cultural Diversity. This has included initiatives for Indigenous creators in Brazil’s digital publishing sector, as well as for stronger intellectual property rights in Ethiopia. Lastly, recognizing that the book and publishing industry is a key driver of sustainable development, UNESCO is currently mapping the sector’s expansion across Africa. The resulting report, to be released this year, will analyse publishing trends, challenges and opportunities for growth across our 54 African Member States, aiming to bolster the sector’s contribution to economic and social progress.The world cannot thrive without books. Line by line, page by page, they nourish our thoughts, help us to explore new possibilities and foster the creativity needed to address the complex challenges facing humanity. This “existential creativity,” coined by the Nigerian author Ben Okri, enables people to dedicate their lives “to nothing short of re-dreaming society.”On this World Book and Copyright Day, we reaffirm our support for readers and writers worldwide – because today, we need this creativity more than ever before.