Not a bit of a write-off: Faber-Castell celebrates handwriting

Whether you're a penciller or a doodler, a pencil aficionado or a fan of the digital pen, it's worth celebrating and promoting handwriting even in the age of tablets, smartphones, and voice notes. Why? Because our brains benefit from it in many ways.

January 23 is International Handwriting Day. Since 1977, under the auspices of the Writing Instrument Manufacturers Association (WIMA), the influence of handwriting on our everyday lives has been honoured worldwide.

Today we know that there is a connection between writing, thinking, creativity and the neuronal activity of our brain: "Writing and drawing with the hand is basic competence for many things, and language succeeds above all through the highly complex, fine motor skills with the hand," says Stephanie Ingrid Müller, art and media pedagogue from the Mediastep Institute in Nuremberg.

But writing not only makes you smart, it also helps to reduce stress and allows the brain to rest, while at the same time stimulating our memory and keeping the mind young. And ultimately, handwriting is capable of one thing in particular: conveying emotions. Nothing is as personal, authentic and individual as it.

Reason enough for Faber-Castell to fully dedicate itself to 23 January 2022 on various channels: only handwriting will be posted on social media - this also applies to comments from the community. An intranet contest will reward the best writing among employees worldwide, and there will be a taste of CEO Stefan Leitz's handwriting on LinkedIn.

With the campaign day, Faber-Castell would like to once again raise awareness of the advantages of analogue writing, both internally and externally, and encourage people to integrate it into their everyday routine, both privately and professionally: writing down the next shopping list with a pen again, sending a card for a birthday instead of a WhatsApp, leaving a Post-it on the PC for a colleague instead of typing an e-mail.

In some Faber-Castell divisions, it has always been customary to express special appreciation with a personal gesture: In the Customer Care team, for example, compliment cards have always been handwritten.