The event is celebrated annually on 23 April each year. The World Book and Copyright Day also known as the International Day of the Book or simply the World Book Day, is an annual event championed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright.
The event brought together young emerging writers, veteran scholars, educationists and members of the Young Writers’ Association of The Gambia and The Writers’ Association of The Gambia.
The commemoration by WAG was a feature discussion and brief lectures by renowned Gambian writer and educationist, Nana Grey Johnson, who lectured participants on the subject ‘Krio – Retracing the Footsteps of an Extraordinary People,’ while Aja Ramatoulie Othman Jallow lectured participants on ‘The Aku Marabout: A minority Group threatened by Extinction’.
Dr Cherno Omar Barry of the International Open University, who doubles as President of The Gambia Writers Association, also gave a lecture on ‘Indigenous Knowledge production to preserve our languages,’ while author Musa Bah, a staunch advocate of promoting indigenous Gambian languages, took participants through ‘Writing in Our National Languages – Benefits and Challenges.
Professor Adoulie Saine also gave a discourse on ‘The Socio-cultural Evolution of the Saloum-Saloum’.
The commemoration was marked with a small scaled book exhibition, Nana Grey’s Krio Engagement & Other Stories, Edward Francis Small Watch Dog of The Gambia, ‘The Newspaper in The Gambia’ and ‘I of Ebony’ by prominent author Nana Grey Johnson were all on display.
Other books displayed included: ‘The Dictator and the Heretic’ by Momodou Sallah, ‘Le Cimetiere Ne Prie Pas’ by Baba Jallow and ‘Quand Le Singe Parle Roman’ by Baaba Sillah.
As it is customary, a World Book Capital is chosen each year by UNESCO. Accra, capital of Ghana, has been designated as 2023 Book Capital to carry out program of activities to celebrate and promote books and reading.
