World Book and Copyright Day - April 23, 2006

Go to the UNESCO website for the World Book and Copyright Day, 2006.

By celebrating this Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright.

23 April: a symbolic date for world literature for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors, and was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors. UNESCO encourages "everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity".

World Book and Copyright Day - April 23, 2006

Go to the UNESCO website for the World Book and Copyright Day, 2006.

By celebrating this Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright.

23 April: a symbolic date for world literature for on this date and in the same year of 1616, Cervantes, Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega all died. It is also the date of birth or death of other prominent authors, and was a natural choice for UNESCO's General Conference to pay a world-wide tribute to books and authors. UNESCO encourages "everyone, and in particular young people, to discover the pleasure of reading and gain a renewed respect for the irreplaceable contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity".

United Kingdom to give $15 billion to promote Education for All (EFA)

Read the full press release from UNESCO.

"The United Kingdom has pledged $15 billion in overseas aid for education in Africa and Asia over the next ten years."

United Kingdom to give $15 billion to promote Education for All (EFA)

Read the full press release from UNESCO.

"The United Kingdom has pledged $15 billion in overseas aid for education in Africa and Asia over the next ten years."

Masterpieces of Intangible Heritage

UNESCO's Culture program includes a strong focus on the intangible heritage of mankind. Indeed, UNESCO is the managing U.N. agency for The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

It has produced this webpage with an interactive map showing the entire List of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Various lists down the left side of the webpage, plus a world map, allow visitors to the page to browse among the 47 proclaimed masterpieces and to consult detailed information, diaporamas, and videos on each of them.

Masterpieces of Intangible Heritage

UNESCO's Culture program includes a strong focus on the intangible heritage of mankind. Indeed, UNESCO is the managing U.N. agency for The Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage.

It has produced this webpage with an interactive map showing the entire List of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. Various lists down the left side of the webpage, plus a world map, allow visitors to the page to browse among the 47 proclaimed masterpieces and to consult detailed information, diaporamas, and videos on each of them.

Unesco intends to put the magic back in Babylon

Read the full article by Jeffrey Gettleman in The New York Times/International Herald Tribune, FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 2006.

"Babylon, the city with the million- dollar name, has paid the price of war. It has been ransacked, looted, torn up, paved over, neglected and roughly occupied. Archaeologists said American soldiers had even used soil thick with priceless artifacts to stuff sandbags.

"But Iraqi leaders and UN officials are not giving up on it. They are working assiduously to restore Babylon, home to the Hanging Gardens, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.........

"The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is pumping millions of dollars into Babylon and a handful of other sites. It has even printed a snazzy brochure to give to wealthy donors. "Cultural tourism could become Iraq's second biggest industry, after oil," explained Philippe Delanghe, a United Nations official helping with the project."