A Call to Action

Today 21 September is the International Day of Peace. And with that in mind and a fabulous illustration from Tove Jansson, here’s iBbY international’s timely call to action.

IBBY’S CALL-TO-ACTION
For sixty years the International Board on Books for Young People has followed the ideal that books build bridges between people. Books give us wings and can demolish the walls that are built on fear and intolerance.
This work is as important and relevant today as it was sixty years ago, particularly now when so many children around the world are facing enormous upheavals in their young lives. We are currently experiencing a global crisis and IBBY is unwavering in its support for those working for peace and understanding. We believe that every child has the right to read and we fully support the principles of the International Convention on the Rights of the Child.
IBBY is committed to helping children in crisis, whether they are refugees in Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Oceania, North America or Latin America. IBBY looks for solutions. There are many IBBY projects, including the wordless Silent Books, book packs and introducing the library networks, which all work to alleviate the trauma that these young people are faced with. We also need to show children from different communities around the world how to welcome their new neighbours and how to live together in harmony. We firmly believe that stories and libraries can inspire this necessary accord.
Today, we urge all professionals working in the field of children’s literature to join us take action and find solutions to help the children and young people who are caught up in this current turmoil.
35th IBBY World Congress,
Auckland, New Zealand
21 August 2016
​To find out more and get involved, head over to: www.ibby.org or email ibby@ibby.org ​