EVENTS: April 23rd marks World Book and Copyright Day 2026. For Africa, the occasion highlights the journey of its literature, the struggles of its authors, and the continent's growing contribution to global storytelling.During the day, we will explore the status of books in Africa in a digital era that has largely re-written information consumption. We also share a selection of African books worth reading. Watch the documentary entitled'' Turning pages in a digital age.''
Every year, as part of celebrations for World Book and Copyright Day, a World Book Capital is selected by UNESCO and international organizations representing the major sectors of the book industry – publishers, booksellers and libraries. Selected cities promote books and reading for all age groups and across all of society, in the host country and beyond. To date, UNESCO has designated 26 World Book Capitals, from Madrid, Spain, in 2001, to Rabat, Morocco, in 2026.
In a recent statement, UNESCO highlighted Rabat's commitment to fostering the book industry and encouraging reading through its 54 publishing houses; it also hosts Africa's third-largest international book fair. Rabat aims to come up with various initiatives to improve access to books, bolster the local publishing sector, and advance literacy among all age groups and demographics, both nationally and internationally.
The statement added that the celebrations are set to commence on April 23, 2026, coinciding with the World Book and Copyright Day. As Rabat Opens Book Capital Year, Minister Says Books Shape Society Morocco’s Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation said the launch of the new Rabat book fair edition comes at a defining cultural moment, as the capital begins its year as UNESCO’s “World Book Capital 2026.”.
“The book is the basis, the source and the starting point of science and knowledge,” the minister told Morocco World News (MWN), arguing that books shape students’ scientific, critical, and analytical thinking while also supporting “psychological balance, intellectual balance and social balance.”
He said Rabat fully deserves the international recognition, describing the Moroccan capital as one of the most beautiful capitals in the world and stressing that the title should serve as more than a symbolic distinction.
The minister also said promoting books cannot remain the job of schools alone. He called on families, universities, civil society groups, and Moroccans at large to help build a stronger culture of reading and writing from an early age, saying that preserving Morocco’s identity and civilization depends on giving books the place they deserve.
Throughout the year, the city will host a wide range of cultural programs, public readings, and community-driven initiatives aimed at making literature more accessible to all.
Statement of the Director of the UNESCO Office in the Caribbean on World Book and Copyright Day 2026, April 23rd.
World Book and Copyright Day invites us to return to something both simple and essential. The role of books in how we think, learn, and imagine the world. Even as our daily lives become increasingly digital, books remain a unique space of depth and continuity. They slow us down in a useful way. They allow ideas to unfold over time rather than in fragments. Whether in print or digital form, they remain one of the most powerful tools for education, cultural memory, and critical reflection. The digital age has of course transformed how we access knowledge. Information is now immediate, abundant, and global. This brings enormous opportunities. More voices can be published, more readers can be reached, and knowledge can circulate more freely than ever before. But it also brings challenges. Attention is more fragmented. Information can be more volatile. And not all content carries the same level of verification or depth.
In this context, books continue to offer a reference point, a space where ideas are structured, curated, and often more carefully developed. Rather than seeing books and digital media as opposites, it is perhaps more useful to see them as complimentary. Digital platforms can expand access to reading, especially in places where physical books are less available. At the same time, the book form, whether printed or electronic,still provides a discipline of thought that remains vital in an age of rapid consumption. This is why initiatives such as the world book capital are so meaningful.
Each year, UNESCO designates a city for its commitment to books and reading and for its efforts to strengthen the entire ecosystem that supports them from authors and publishers to libraries and readers.
This year, the world book capital is Rabbat in Morocco. It is a city with a rich intellectual tradition and a vibrant cultural life and its designation reflects a broader commitment to literacy, creativity, and dialogue.
In celebrating World Book and Copyright Day, we are not only celebrating books as objects. We are celebrating the ecosystems they sustain and the ways in which they continue to anchor reflection, imagination, and shared understanding even in a deeply digital world.
At UNOV; To celebrate the World Book and Copyright Day 2026, the IAEA, UNOV, and CTBTO will jointly host a variety of in-person and virtual events on April 23rd. See below for the agenda or to register to attend. We look forward to your participation!
23 April 2026 --- 09:30 – 10:30 Tour IAEA Archives IAEA Meeting Point A04 Elevators.
10:30 – 11:00 Presentation From metadata to full text: how INIS delivers nuclear knowledge worldwide Ms Olga Vakula (IAEA) F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library & Online
12:00 – 13:00 (F0146 - IAEA Lise Meitner Library)
Tour and Meet & Greet
Come along for a tour of the IAEA Lise Meitner Library and discover the space, the history and facts that might surprise you. The reading rooms and library are open to anyone in the VIC, join the tour to discover your next favourite place in the building!
The tour can accommodate 15 participants. Click here to register (for the tour only)
11:30 – 14:00 (A Building, Cafeteria)
Meet & Greet Information Professionals from IAEA & UNOV & CTBTO.
Get to know your librarians from the VBOs in the cafeteria and publishers from the IAEA on the ground floor of the A building. In addition to providing information on our services, there will also be an opportunity to view a few special items from our collections.
14:00 – 14:30 (F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library)
Welcome Remarks.
World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated every year on April 23rd. Come hear about the meaning of this day for VBO libraries, archives, and publishing units. We will be joined by IAEA DDG-NE, M. M. Chudakov and DDG-MT, M. Doane and UNESCO representative Ms Klara Koštal, Head of Department: Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
14:30 – 15:15 (F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library)
Talk: Future Needs Wisdom: a personal view on the future of research under the spell of AI.
Prof. Helga Nowotny will share her thoughts and insights on Artificial Intelligence, followed by a thought-provoking discussion on Women in STEM. A discussion moderated by Brain Bales (IAEA INIS) and Anastasia Lazykina, (IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme). Click here to register
15:15 – 15:45 (F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library)
Closing - World Book & Copyright Day.
After the talk with Prof. Helga Nowotny, there will be a small reception to celebrate and close the World Book and Copyright Day festivities. Please join us for some light refreshments.
World Book and Copyright Day invites us to return to something both simple and essential. The role of books in how we think, learn, and imagine the world. Even as our daily lives become increasingly digital, books remain a unique space of depth and continuity. They slow us down in a useful way. They allow ideas to unfold over time rather than in fragments. Whether in print or digital form, they remain one of the most powerful tools for education, cultural memory, and critical reflection. The digital age has of course transformed how we access knowledge. Information is now immediate, abundant, and global. This brings enormous opportunities. More voices can be published, more readers can be reached, and knowledge can circulate more freely than ever before. But it also brings challenges. Attention is more fragmented. Information can be more volatile. And not all content carries the same level of verification or depth.
In this context, books continue to offer a reference point, a space where ideas are structured, curated, and often more carefully developed. Rather than seeing books and digital media as opposites, it is perhaps more useful to see them as complimentary. Digital platforms can expand access to reading, especially in places where physical books are less available. At the same time, the book form, whether printed or electronic,still provides a discipline of thought that remains vital in an age of rapid consumption. This is why initiatives such as the world book capital are so meaningful.
Each year, UNESCO designates a city for its commitment to books and reading and for its efforts to strengthen the entire ecosystem that supports them from authors and publishers to libraries and readers.
This year, the world book capital is Rabbat in Morocco. It is a city with a rich intellectual tradition and a vibrant cultural life and its designation reflects a broader commitment to literacy, creativity, and dialogue.
In celebrating World Book and Copyright Day, we are not only celebrating books as objects. We are celebrating the ecosystems they sustain and the ways in which they continue to anchor reflection, imagination, and shared understanding even in a deeply digital world.
Director of the UNESCO Office in the Caribbean.
At UNOV; To celebrate the World Book and Copyright Day 2026, the IAEA, UNOV, and CTBTO will jointly host a variety of in-person and virtual events on April 23rd. See below for the agenda or to register to attend. We look forward to your participation!
23 April 2026 --- 09:30 – 10:30 Tour IAEA Archives IAEA Meeting Point A04 Elevators.
10:30 – 11:00 Presentation From metadata to full text: how INIS delivers nuclear knowledge worldwide Ms Olga Vakula (IAEA) F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library & Online
11:15 – 12:00 Daughters’ day event.
Chinese calligraphy workshop (only for registered daughters) IAEA F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library
11:30 – 14:00 Event Meet and Greet IAEA Publishing Section and Archives, UNOV, CTBTO libraries IAEA, CTBTO, UNOV A Building ground floor & Cafeteria
12:00 – 13:00 Event Library Tour & Meet and Greet the Library and INIS Teams IAEA F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library
14:00 – 14:30 Opening Remarks IAEA DDG-NE and DDG-MT
UNESCO Representative Ms Klara Koštal, Head of Department: Diversity of Cultural Expressions F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library
14:30 – 15:15 Talk Future Needs Wisdom: a personal view on the future of research under the spell of AI Prof. Helga Nowotny F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library
15:15 – 15:45 Closing World Book and Copyright Day Remarks followed by light refreshments IAEA F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library
09:30 – 10:30 (Meeting Point A04 Elevators)
Tour - IAEA Archives.
Tour - IAEA Archives The IAEA Archives are a pillar of the IAEA’s institutional memory, spanning over 70 years and comprising over 10,000 shelf metres of hard-copy records and 10 terabytes of data. These walking tours are an opportunity to look behind the scenes to:
Chinese calligraphy workshop (only for registered daughters) IAEA F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library
11:30 – 14:00 Event Meet and Greet IAEA Publishing Section and Archives, UNOV, CTBTO libraries IAEA, CTBTO, UNOV A Building ground floor & Cafeteria
12:00 – 13:00 Event Library Tour & Meet and Greet the Library and INIS Teams IAEA F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library
14:00 – 14:30 Opening Remarks IAEA DDG-NE and DDG-MT
UNESCO Representative Ms Klara Koštal, Head of Department: Diversity of Cultural Expressions F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library
14:30 – 15:15 Talk Future Needs Wisdom: a personal view on the future of research under the spell of AI Prof. Helga Nowotny F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library
15:15 – 15:45 Closing World Book and Copyright Day Remarks followed by light refreshments IAEA F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library
Schedule of World Book and Copyright Week 2026; Tuesday April 23rd.
Tour - IAEA Archives.
Tour - IAEA Archives The IAEA Archives are a pillar of the IAEA’s institutional memory, spanning over 70 years and comprising over 10,000 shelf metres of hard-copy records and 10 terabytes of data. These walking tours are an opportunity to look behind the scenes to:
Experience the size and composition of the IAEA Archives;
Interact with some of the treasures in our holdings and be inspired by the Agency's history;
View the Reading Room and an archival repository, and learn about challenges in preservation and access management; and Hear how the Department of Management oversees the IAEA Archives.
Interact with some of the treasures in our holdings and be inspired by the Agency's history;
View the Reading Room and an archival repository, and learn about challenges in preservation and access management; and Hear how the Department of Management oversees the IAEA Archives.
The tour can accommodate 15 participants. Meeting point : A04 Elevators. Click here to register
10:30 – 11:00 (F0146 – IAEA Lise Meitner Library & Online)
From metadata to full text: how INIS delivers nuclear knowledge worldwide
Olga Vakula – INIS
How do you access hard-to-find nuclear research from around the world? Discover how INIS connects users to nuclear knowledge, providing extensive metadata and helping locate full texts through international collaboration with Member States and partner libraries. Click here to register.
From metadata to full text: how INIS delivers nuclear knowledge worldwide
Olga Vakula – INIS
How do you access hard-to-find nuclear research from around the world? Discover how INIS connects users to nuclear knowledge, providing extensive metadata and helping locate full texts through international collaboration with Member States and partner libraries. Click here to register.
12:00 – 13:00 (F0146 - IAEA Lise Meitner Library)
Tour and Meet & Greet
Come along for a tour of the IAEA Lise Meitner Library and discover the space, the history and facts that might surprise you. The reading rooms and library are open to anyone in the VIC, join the tour to discover your next favourite place in the building!
The tour can accommodate 15 participants. Click here to register (for the tour only)
11:30 – 14:00 (A Building, Cafeteria)
Meet & Greet Information Professionals from IAEA & UNOV & CTBTO.
Get to know your librarians from the VBOs in the cafeteria and publishers from the IAEA on the ground floor of the A building. In addition to providing information on our services, there will also be an opportunity to view a few special items from our collections.
Welcome Remarks.
World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated every year on April 23rd. Come hear about the meaning of this day for VBO libraries, archives, and publishing units. We will be joined by IAEA DDG-NE, M. M. Chudakov and DDG-MT, M. Doane and UNESCO representative Ms Klara Koštal, Head of Department: Diversity of Cultural Expressions.
Talk: Future Needs Wisdom: a personal view on the future of research under the spell of AI.
Prof. Helga Nowotny will share her thoughts and insights on Artificial Intelligence, followed by a thought-provoking discussion on Women in STEM. A discussion moderated by Brain Bales (IAEA INIS) and Anastasia Lazykina, (IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme). Click here to register
Closing - World Book & Copyright Day.
After the talk with Prof. Helga Nowotny, there will be a small reception to celebrate and close the World Book and Copyright Day festivities. Please join us for some light refreshments.
For more information please contact us!, Click here to play the wordle of the day! and See the World Book Day EUREST menu on April 23rd 2026 here!
