IPOPHL launches book club for copyright, book appreciation and mental health wellness
April 27, 2021
In celebration of World Book and Copyright Day held on April 23, the Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL), spearheaded by the Bureau of Copyright and Related Rights (BCRR), virtually launched the “Chi-BOOK-ahan” book club, aiming to create a culture of reading, drive copyright appreciation, and promote mental health wellness in the workplace.
Celebrated annually, the World Book and Copyright Day aims to honor authors, illustrators and other content creators in the book industry, and most importantly, promote reading.
IPOPHL Director General Rowel S. Barba said the celebration is also timely as mental health is a raging issue amid the pandemic. “More importantly, and I think very critical today, is how reading good books can reduce stress, anxieties and improve mental health. Protecting our mental health is an utmost priority, especially in an ongoing health crisis where people are not only dying because of the virus, but are also taking their own lives,” Barba said.
Citing data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, Barba said suicide incidents in the country rose 26% in 2020, making suicide, in the first year of the pandemic, the 27th leading cause of death from only 31st in 2019. “With thousands of job losses, of closed businesses, of loved ones left in mourning, the air is filled with so much despair and anguish that we hope to prevent more suicides and ease depressive thoughts. And we at IPOPHL would like to start making the world a better place for everyone’s mental health by starting in our workplace,” he added.
For his part, Deputy Director General Nelson P. Laluces said promoting a habit of reading can also revitalize the struggling Philippine book industry in many ways. “First, reading can inspire more people, especially writers, to unleash the “best-selling author” they can be. And if we can make more best-selling writers who create fresh and original content, the local industry has a big chance to be globally competitive. Second, as we promote more readers, we are creating more consumers to serve, more demand to satisfy, and more economic opportunities for the local book industry,” he said.
The Chi-Book-Ahan is an initiative of the BCRR in partnership with the Bureau of Patents, Bureau of Trademarks, the Documentation, Information and Technology Transfer Bureau, Financial Management and Administrative Services, and Human Resources Division.
Joining the launch were former Chairperson of the National Book Development Board and award-winning author, Flor Marie”Neni” Sta. Romana-Cruz; International Sales Manager and co-founder of the Filipino ReaderCon, Honey De Peralta; and multi-awarded author, poet, journalist and broadcast personality in News and Public Affairs of TV5 and OneNews, Lourd de Veyra as keynote speakers who shared their favorite book titles.
Meanwhile, a storytelling session with Melanie Ramirez with Jose Tomasito Fernando and James Rommel Mabborang, all from the Children’s Section of the National Library of the Philippines or more commonly known as the NLP Kwentistas. Also for their part, DDG Teodoro C. Pascua, DITTB Director, Atty. Mary Grace Cruz-Yap and BOP Director, Atty. Lolibeth R. Medrano engaged in poetry and reading sessions.
Meanwhile, co-founder Jacqueline Ng of Big Bad Wolf Books, which is a partner of IPOPHL, has also joined the event as a guest.
“And our long term goal is to make it a sustainable initiative by mandating the HR to allocate a certain amount annually in order to sustain the program and its operations and by encouraging participation on official time, as allowed under Civil Service Rules and Regulations,” BCCR Director Emerson G. Cuyo said.
Aside from launching the book club, the BCRR released the Copyright Reference Book Philippines which contains Philippine Copyright Law and Relevant Issuances, International Treaties, Conventions and Agreements,” a collation of all local and international copyright laws.
“We fervently hope for this book to be one of the many ways to promote and protect copyright and other related rights. We also hope to keep the creative sector informed with the latest and relevant developments in copyright and related rights, here and abroad, so as to get greater participation and involvement from the creatives in registering and protecting their works,” BCRR’s Cuyo said.
“We hope that with these efforts of the BCRR on the World Book and Copyright Day, we have underscored the importance of reading and copyright appreciation to society and economic recovery and growth,” Cuyo added.### (Janina Lim, Media Relations Officer)
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