World Book Day roundup

World Book Day events spread across several countries this week, from a seven-day regional fair in Santiago to campus debates in Santiago, Chile, and reading campaigns in Vietnam. (unesco.org) (vicepresidencia.gob.do) (vinculacion.utem.cl) (vietnam.vnanet.vn) In the Dominican Republic, Vice President Raquel Peña and Culture Minister Roberto Ángel Salcedo opened the Cibao 2026 Regional Book and Culture Fair on April 20 in Santiago de los Caballeros. The program runs for seven days and brings together the 14 provinces of the Cibao region. (vicepresidencia.gob.do) (dominicantoday.com) Organizers said the Santiago fair runs from April 20 to April 26 around the Gran Teatro del Cibao and nearby public spaces, with 11 pavilions and themed areas for books, reading and cultural industries. (dominicantoday.com) (tusolcaribe.com) The international observance itself falls on April 23, when UNESCO marks World Book and Copyright Day and promotes books, reading and copyright protection. UNESCO says it has named 26 World Book Capitals since the program began, with Rabat serving in 2026. (unesco.org) Vietnam marks a separate but related date on April 21. State media said the country has observed Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day every year since a 2014 prime ministerial decision created the holiday to encourage reading. (vietnam.vnanet.vn) (baodongnai.com.vn) (en.baobacninhtv.vn) Vietnamese coverage on April 21 described Book and Reading Culture Day as a nationwide campaign to build reading habits in schools, libraries and communities as more reading shifts onto digital platforms. (vietnamnet.vn) (vietnam.vnanet.vn) In Chile, Ediciones UTEM at the Metropolitan Technological University scheduled World Book Day activities around one of publishing’s current arguments: how artificial intelligence changes writing. Its April 23 program includes a public debate, plus contests for students and university staff. (vinculacion.utem.cl) (editorial.utem.cl) (elciudadano.com) In Nigeria, the Committee for Relevant Art and the Nigerian Copyright Commission used the week’s events to center reading promotion and copyright, pairing World Book Day programming with public calls to protect authors and expand access to books. (thelagosreview.ng) The week’s calendar shows how one UNESCO date now anchors different local agendas: regional identity in the Dominican Republic, reading policy in Vietnam, copyright enforcement in Nigeria and artificial-intelligence debates in Chile. By April 23, the common thread is still the same one UNESCO set out to celebrate — books, readers and the systems that keep both alive. (unesco.org) (dominicantoday.com) (vietnamnet.vn) (thelagosreview.ng) (vinculacion.utem.cl)