Through this new Collection, IBBY and UNESCO are joining efforts to protect linguistic diversity in the field of children’s literature and send a global call to discover and share books written for young readers in Indigenous and endangered languages.
The IBBY-UNESCO Collection of Remarkable Books for Young Readers in Indigenous and Endangered Languages is a worldwide invitation to publishers and institutions working to promote children’s books and reading, to submit titles for young readers published in the past three years in Indigenous and endangered languages.
An international committee, which includes IBBY, UNESCO, and influential international experts on children and young adult books who play a positive role in the empowerment of Indigenous identities and languages, will select titles to form a globally representative collection, with a strong focus on books that adhere to the Ten Outputs of the IDIL 2022–2032 Action Plan.
The call for submissions is open until the end of 2025 and the List will be presented at the IBBY World Congress to be held in Ottawa on 6–9 August 2026.
This initiative is taken within the framework of the International Decade of Indigenous Languages (IDIL 2022–2032) proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly aimed at drawing global attention to the critical situation of many Indigenous languages, and to mobilize stakeholders and resources for their preservation, revitalization and promotion.
More information:
About UNESCO: www.unesco.org
“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed” – UNESCO Constitution, 1945.
With 194 Member States, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization contributes to peace and security by leading multilateral cooperation on education, science, culture, communication and information. Headquartered in Paris, UNESCO has offices in 54 countries and employs over 2300 people. UNESCO oversees more than 2000 World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves and Global Geoparks; networks of Creative, Learning, Inclusive and Sustainable Cities; and over 13 000 associated schools, university chairs, training and research institutions. Its Director-General is Audrey Azoulay.
About IBBY: www.ibby.org
Founded in Switzerland in 1953, the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), is a non-profit organization which represents an international network of people who are committed to bringing books and children together. It is composed of 85 National Sections all over the world. Part of IBBY’s mission is to promote international understanding through children's books; to give children everywhere the opportunity to have access to books with high literary and artistic standards; to encourage the publication and distribution of quality children's books, especially in developing countries, and to protect and uphold the Rights of the Child according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Contacts:
Clare O’Hagan, press officer at UNESCO
Carolina Ballester, executive director at IBBY
[Quelle: Pressemitteilung]