On Monday, the Ghanaian capital Accra formally took over as the 2023 World Book Capital of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) from the Mexican city of Guadalajara.

“Books and reading are essential to us all, as a source of information, questions and emotions, to get us close with the world,” director-general of UNESCO, Audrey Azoulay, said at the launching ceremony for the 2023 World Book Capital along with Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

He added that the choice of Accra as the 2023 World Book Capital was a call for action to support reading among all people and remove the barriers to reading on the African continent.

While reading some books with schoolchildren at the ceremony, Mr Akufo-Addo said, “The World Book Capital is more than a reading campaign.”

The president added, “It is an opportunity for the government and international partners to leverage these diverse linkages to culture and education to deepen our collective actions to make progress on the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.”

Mr Akufo-Addo explained that it “is also a catalyst for investment in Ghana’s creative and cultural sector that will enable this growing sector to provide more decent jobs for our young people.”

(Xinhua/NAN)