One drop of ink….

….can make millions think. It is a famous quote by George Gordon Byron (better known as Lord Byron), (1788-1824). He was an English Romantic writer and poet. His masterpiece was Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, a narrative poem he began in 1812 following his adventurous travels in Southern Europe. He died in Greece during the War of Independence against the Turks as a result of an attack of malaria. An inspiring statement, but what good is it if, as a child, you never held a drop of ink, let alone pen and paper, in your hands? You won't easily get millions thinking. Reading and writing, as we all know, are rights of the child, but this often turns out to be an empty slogan. In 2014, the United Nations issued three stamps titled Education First/L'éducation Avant Tout/Onderwijs Eerst. Below is one of them, in the form of a bookmark. The notepad below from Palestine from 2014, published on the occasion of the National Reading Campaign in the Palestinian State, carries the clear message: With words, we overcome walls. In 2020, Bosnia and Herzegovina issued this stamp on the occasion of Children's Book Day. That is another way to do it. On October 15, 2004, the United Nations stamp below appeared, titled 'Books-Not-Guns'. It was presented by UN Ambassador and actor Michael Douglas with the following words: 'The proliferation of light weapons has deprived children of the opportunity to go to school, play outside, and receive a safe upbringing under the protection of elders. It turns them into instruments of war.' The Isle of Man is known for its summer festivals where visitors can enjoy Celtic heritage and traditions in the fields of culture and art. One such festival is the 'Manx Litfest' (short for literature festival), which has been held at the Erin Arts Centre since 2012. The reader depicted represents all the authors, poets, and readers from across Great Britain who attend this six-day literary event and can also enjoy literary workshops. The Cairo International Book Fair is the largest and oldest international book fair in the Arab world, held every year in late January in Cairo, Egypt. The fair attracts approximately two million visitors over a period of three weeks each year. The Peace Prize of the German Book Trade, awarded annually during the Frankfurt Book Fair, went to the Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk in 2005 for his novel *Snow*. As in all his novels, he attempts to bridge the gap between East and West, Islam and Christianity, and tradition and modernity. This is not appreciated by everyone. In 2006, he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. Canada stamp booklet (2015) from the Canada Post Community Foundation for the benefit of children's aid. A beautiful sheet from 2015 featuring personal letters from five great Dutchmen: Vincent van Gogh, Leo Vroman, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Erasmus, and Christiaan Huygens. With the exception of Leo Vroman, this was their only means of communication. A beautiful tribute. On November 25, 2021, Canada Post issued a stamp in honor of Canada's most beloved author, Margaret Atwood. This came as a great surprise to her, as she is not yet dead. On this day, she was 82 years old, but she is still active. She is the author of more than 50 books containing poetry, fiction, essays, literary criticism, children's stories, environmental activism, and graphic novels. She was a teacher and an environmental and political activist. Although she shares many ideas with the women's rights movement, she does not want to be called a feminist. Of her fiction, *Alias ​​Grace* and *The Handmaid's Tale* became particularly well-known. The words in red on the stamp, *…a word after a word after a word is power…*, come from her poem *Spelling* (1981) and emphasize her belief in the power of one's voice. 'Powerlessness and silence go together.' It is one of her most famous poems on the subject of 'writing'. Orhan Pamuk and Margaret Atwood are among my favorite writers. They have made many people think.