In its desire to contribute actively to disseminating the principles of the Red Cross and the Conventions among schoolchildren the world over, the International Committee took the initiative of publishing and offering National Societies an 80-page school textbook with illustrations suited to each country. The school textbook was complemented by a “Teacher's Manual” to serve as a guide for teachers. By 31 October 1973, fifty-eight countries of Africa, Asia and the Middle East were using the textbook, and more than two million copies had been published in seventeen languages.