The millions of people in some 80 countries who have regularly participated since 1995 in World Book and Copyright Day celebrations have well understood this notion.
Books are an invaluable life-long companion.
In societies founded on writing as well as those which draw their origin from oral traditions but later discovered writing, the act of writing is cherished as the guardian of heritage and the expression of new creativity. It is the key to progress in basic education, the fight against poverty and new advances in communication and information technologies. Protecting writers against the unauthorised exploitation of their work is a corollary of this. Because they are foremost the expression of one's thoughts, an expression of being, books help humanize our world.