The National Book Development Board (NBDB) and the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) in partnership with the Filipinas Heritage Library (FHL) celebrated World Book and Copyright Day at the UP-Ayala Land TechnoHub last April 15, 2011. World Book and Copyright Day has been celebrated all around the world on April 23 since its inception by the UNESCO in 1995, and was designed to encourage reading and writing.
The celebration began with welcome messages were given by NBDB Chairman Dennis T. Gonzales and IPO Director General Atty. Ricardo R. Blancaflor, followed by a keynote speech by Ms. Socorro Ramos, the General Manager of National Bookstore. After the opening ceremonies, the World Book and Copyright Day held a number of events that catered to all kinds of book lovers.
One of the main events of the celebration were the lectures and seminars that discussed relevant issues in the book industry today. IPO Philippines’ Deputy Director General Andrew Ong, Atty. Louie Calvario, Atty. Lope Manuel, and Atty. Mark Dy discussed various issues regarding copyright and plagiarism.
For younger book lovers, Adarna House conducted a Book Illustration Workshop for kids. The workshop gave a step-by-step overview on how to illustrate for storybooks from building storyboards to the different styles and trends in storybook illustration.
Khavn dela Cruz’s film Mondomanila was also screened during the celebration. The film, an artistic adaptation of Norman Wilwayco’s Palanca-winning novel of the same title, presents a look into Manila that is at once real as it is surreal and absurd.
A mini-book fair was also held during the celebration. Participants in the book fair included National Bookstore, Anvil Publishing, Adarna House, New Day Publishers, and the Filipinas Heritage Library.
