Frankfurt Book Fair launches human rights campaign

In Germany, Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) and the German Publishers and Booksellers Association have launched the ‘On the Same Page’ campaign to mark the 70th anniversary of the United Nations (UN) charter on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

FBF’s campaign aims to raise awareness of the UN’s charter and call ‘attention to abuses that need to be rectified‘. Beginning in September and ending on the final day of the book fair (running from 10-14 October), the campaign will feature presentations with German and international authors, industry experts and campaign partners, and will use the hashtag #OnTheSamePage on social media.  

In a statement, FBF made an appeal to publishers, booksellers, authors, translators, illustrators, poets, bloggers, satirists and fair visitors to ‘become part of this campaign, actively support the General Declaration of Human Rights and stand up for respect, cultural understanding and for a free and diverse world’.

‘The right to free expression of opinion and publishing, to education, intellectual property, and the right of free assembly are all of key relevance to our industry and its activities—because we can only publish our works freely and without restrictions where human rights are observed,’ said FBF. ‘147 nations in the world have recognised human rights, but many of them nonetheless violate these universal basic rights on a daily basis.’

‘With support from Amnesty International and the UN we are calling attention to abuses that need to be rectified. We are also calling upon politicians to do more to stand up for human rights without exception,’ said FBF.

Tags: Frankfurt Book FairGerman Publishers and Booksellers AssociationUnited NationsUniversal Declaration of Human Rights

Category: International news