Books – the key to world’s wealth and wisdom
St. Cecilia’s Public School celebrated World Book and Copyright Day on 23th April to promote books, reading, and the stimulation of creativity through copyright. Principal Mrs. R Bhumra in her message to the students addressed the importance of books as irreplaceable sources of knowledge, ideas and innovation. She said, "In books we find the wealth and wisdom of the world.” Young Cecilians were told to become zealous torchbearers of Right to Education. The deprived children who cannot read were remembered. A play was enacted by the students to portray that be it through illiteracy, through censorship or through language barriers, when people have no access to books and information, they are excluded from the world's wealth and wisdom."
Also, the students also sang a self composed song carrying the message that books are the primary cultural and scientific sources for providing information for the good of mankind. The children of the middle wing were allowed a special block hour for visiting the school library and surfing through books of their choice. They were also told that the libraries play a crucial role to build bridges to books and information by helping people to learn new skills, to discover history and culture or to access remote research findings.
23 April is a symbolic date for world literature, since 23 April 1616 was the date of death of Miguel de Cervantes and William Shakespeare. Initiated in 1995 by UNESCO, this date pays a worldwide tribute to books and their authors, and encourages everyone to discover the pleasure of reading and to gain a renewed respect for the extraordinary contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.
Books provide ideas and works of imagination for their social, educational, cultural, democratic and economic well-being. On this occasion ‘Gift a Book’ activity was also conducted in the school where students gifted each other books to promote the habit of reading and sharing with each other. The students paid a tribute to books and their authors. They were encouraged to discover the pleasure of reading and to gain a renewed respect for the extraordinary contributions of those who have furthered the social and cultural progress of humanity.