Special trip
Before we book a ticket, search for a hotel, and stand in front of a city that we see for the first time, there is an older, quieter journey: to open a book.

A person who reads can visit places he has never set foot in, get to know peoples he has never met, and live a time in which he was not born. Perhaps this is why the relationship between reading and travel seems deeper than we think. They both open a window to the other, and make the world less strange and more close.

Sixty years...and the dream is not complete

On September 8, 2026, the world celebrates the sixtieth anniversary of the declaration of International Literacy Day, while millions of people around the world are still far from the most basic cognitive right: to read a word, write their name, or understand a message that changes the course of their day and their lives.

On this occasion, it is a renewed reminder that eradicating illiteracy is not just a school lesson, but rather a human right that opens the doors to work, knowledge, independence and self-confidence, and gives humans greater ability to understand the world and make their own decisions.

When books become a reason to travel
And the book itself may make a point. There are those who travel to visit a historical library, or the home of a writer they love, or a café where a novel was born, or a street that preserves the memory of a poet. In many cities, libraries, book fairs and literary houses have become part of the identity of the place, like museums, castles and ancient markets.

Reading gives the journey a deeper meaning, and transforms the beautiful scene from a fleeting image into a story whose roots we understand.

A message from “The Journey” to readers around the world

On this day, we not only celebrate those who can read, but we also remember those who are still waiting for their chance to learn a letter that could change their lives.

To every reader, anywhere: Read to your child, give a book, help someone learn a new word, and do not view reading as a passing school skill.

The book does not carry a passport, but it crosses all borders.

From “The Journey” we say: Travel as much as you can, and read as much as you can as well. Because the most beautiful person who arrives in a new city is the one who arrives there with his eyes open and a heart that knows how to understand others.