EURead

📚 Investing in Literacy for Economic Growth and Sustainable Development 🌍 Declining literacy rates are not just an education issue—they impact workforce development, youth unemployment, and even environmental awareness. The forum ‘Future 2.0: Investments in Literacy for Democracy, Sustainable Development, and Human Capital’ will bring together international experts to discuss how literacy shapes these key areas. Organised by our member the Reading Foundation (Bulgaria), with the support of EURead, this event will feature insights from global organisations such as The World Bank, IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), OECD - OCDE, and EURead members from Lukukeskus (Finland), Stiftung Lesen (Germany), and Stichting Lezen (The Netherlands). Together, they will explore how improving reading skills is vital for economic growth, human capital development, and achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 🌱 📅 Date: 22 October 2024 📍 Location: Bulgaria (live-streamed) Let’s invest in literacy for a better future. Find out more and follow the live stream here: https://lnkd.in/dYs6CWyQ #LiteracyForGrowth #SDGs #EURead #HumanCapital #SustainableDevelopment #ReadingForTheFuture #Reading #Literacy #Education #skills

We are thrilled to announce that the Global Network for Early Years Bookgifting has been nominated for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2025*! 🌟📚 The network unites 31 organisations from nearly every continent 🗺️, working tirelessly to spread the word about the benefits of reading from birth onwards. Our colleagues' efforts result in the delivery of more than 1️⃣2️⃣ million book packs to babies and their families each year! ✨📚👶🏻 Through these bookgifting programmes, we promote the powerful cognitive, emotional, and social benefits of shared reading, along with its positive impact on children’s health and wellbeing. Bookgifting has been proven to be the most impactful and cost-effective tool for supporting early language development. Therefore, it is the best investment in society's future! We are proud that the Global Network, initially started by BookTrust, is now part of EURead. Alongside the Global Network, members of EURead are also among the nominees for the prestigious award, with 265 candidates from 71 countries and regions nominated in total. Congrats to our colleagues: 🇬🇷 DIAVAZONTAS MEGALONO - ΔΙΑΒΑΖΟΝΤΑΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΩΝΩ (Greece) 🇳🇴 FORENINGEN LES (Uprisen / Norway) 🇵🇱 Fundacja Powszechnego Czytania (Poland) * The Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award was created in 2002 by the Swedish government to promote every child’s right to great stories. This global award is given annually to a person or organisation for their outstanding contribution to children’s and young adult literature. With a prize of five million Swedish kronor, it is the largest award of its kind. Administrated by Kulturrådet - Swedish Arts Council 🇸🇪 #ALMA2025 #Bookgifting #EarlyYears #Literacy #Reading #ChildDevelopment #Family #EarlyChildhoodDevelopment #ECD

🚀 Join the conversation at EFNI 2024! Organized by our member the Fundacja Powszechnego Czytania (Universal Reading Foundation) as part of the European Forum for New Ideas (#EFNI), this insightful panel discussion will explore how reading and literacy are among the best investments for driving economic growth, fostering innovation, and supporting business development. 📚💼 🎤 Don’t miss Dr. Joerg F. Maas (EURead Chair and CEO of Stiftung Lesen) and other expert speakers as they share insights on building effective, mutually beneficial partnerships between businesses and reading initiatives. Maria Deskur, CEO of Fundacja Powszechnego Czytania, will moderate the discussion. In addition to business-focused topics, the panel will explore the vital importance of critical thinking in the age of #AI and #misinformation. The panelists will address how to train critical thinking and deep comprehension of texts and contexts through reading. Join and hear more from: ▪︎ Prof. Ewa Haman – Developmental psycholinguist ▪︎ Dr. Joerg F. Maas F. Maas – Chair of EURead and CEO of Stiftung Lesen ▪︎ Georg Hausler – Director of the European Commission's Culture Office ▪︎ Marek Żółtowski – Senior regulatory manager at BAT 📅 When? October 18th, 10:45 - 11:45 📍 Where? Hotel Radisson Blu, Sopot, Poland 🌐 Can’t attend in person? The event will be streamed online—follow Fundacja Powszechnego Czytania for more details! #LiteracyForGrowth #EFNI2024 #BusinessAndReading #EURead #CriticalThinking #Innovation #EconomicDevelopment #AI

🚨 In today's world, misinformation spreads rapidly, social media dominates youth attention, literacy rates decline, and #AI disrupts education and the arts. Global crises shape public discourse, raising urgent questions. How can we protect democracy, drive economic growth, achieve sustainable development, and preserve cultural heritage? 🚀 Join us at the Frankfurt Book Fair | Frankfurter Buchmesse! 📅 October 17th, 2024 | 🕞 15:30–16:30 📍 Hall 4.1, Stand B64 📢 Panel: "EURead: Literacy Vital to Democracy" Explore how literacy can combat misinformation, safeguard democracy, and drive sustainable growth. 🎤 Speakers: Arnaud Pasquali – Policy Officer, Creative Europe Valentina Stoeva – EURead Co-Chair, Founder at Детски книги / Children's Books Foundation & Reading Foundation (Bulgaria) Daan Beeke – Network Manager EURead | Specialist, Stichting Lezen Frances Pinter – Founder, SUPRR Initiative | Exec. Chair, CEU Press | Senior Fellow, LSE Anne Bergman – Director, Federation of European Publishers/Fédération des éditeurs européens of European Publishers 🗣 Moderator: Olena Odynoka, Ukrainian Book Institute Let’s shape the future with literacy! https://lnkd.in/dbBmT2pJ #FrankfurtBookFair2024 #LiteracyMatters #Democracy #SustainableFuture #AI

NEWS | Our member The Universal Reading Foundation (the URF) has been honered by the Library of Congress #LiteracyAward. For their effective work on behalf of groups that are at risk of exlcusion for various reasons, the URF is one of this year's 'Succesful Practices Honnorees'. The Library of Congress Literacy Awards have been held for twelve years, and identify organizations that have a track record of extraordinary contributions to improving reading in the United States or elsewhere. 'We are extremely pleased, but at the same time we want to emphasize very strongly that we would not have received this award if it were not for a big group of wonderful people, organizations and institutions that support and cooperate with us. So we thank everyone and celebrate together!' - says Maria Deskur, president of the Universal Reading Foundation. https://lnkd.in/dGU7BFTj

Introducing books to very small babies is the first and one of the most important steps in reading promotion. A recent study by Anna Franklin and published by our member Scottish Book Trust, has an important insight: babies prefer colourful picture books from as early as 3 months old. That is news, because, as the article states: 'Newborn babies’ vision is very poor, and as a result they benefit from the high contrast of black and white books with big bold shapes and minimal detail. However, by 2–3 months old, babies’ vision has improved. By this age, babies can see the full spectrum of colours, although colours need to be bold and bright for babies to see them. This raises the question of whether black and white baby books are too ‘easy’ for babies by the time they are 3 months old.' Read the full article and find out more about a webinar with Professor Anna Franklin via the link below.

Did you know that EURead's Statement on Reading and Literacy is available in 14 languages so far? Learn more about the six key points that we, as reading promoters, consider important for addressing the worsening literacy situation in Europe: https://lnkd.in/dzbqrzJY You can choose between English 🇬🇧, German 🇩🇪, French 🇫🇷, Dutch 🇳🇱, Flemish 🇧🇪, Spanish 🇪🇸, Portuguese 🇵🇹, Swedish 🇸🇪, Finnish 🇫🇮, Norwegian 🇳🇴, Polish 🇵🇱, Bulgarian 🇧🇬, Maltese 🇲🇹 and Basque. All of these can serve as guidelines for policymakers in shaping a coherent, comprehensive, and evidence-based strategy that leads to a more literate and better-educated society. #EuropeReads #reading #education #lifelonglearning #wellbeing #innovations #research #earlychildhood #libraries #democracy

September 8th is International Literacy Day. Literacy is more than just a skill—it's the foundation of personal growth and societal progress. 🌍 By empowering individuals to access education and information, literacy enables informed decision-making and active participation in society. It’s also a critical tool for reducing poverty, improving health outcomes, and advancing gender equality. Investing in literacy is investing in a brighter, more equitable future for all. Learn more about the goals of EURead members in our statement: https://lnkd.in/dzbqrzJY #LiteracyMatters #PersonalDevelopment #EducationForAll #Empowerment #SocialProgress

On September 8th, we celebrate International Literacy Day. As Kofi Annan once said, 'Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope.' Our Greek colleagues at DIAVAZONTAS MEGALONO - ΔΙΑΒΑΖΟΝΤΑΣ ΜΕΓΑΛΩΝΩ not only build bridges but also give the greatest gift of all to families and their children, regardless of their background: the gift of reading! 'Let’s Read Together!', organized annually since 2019, aims to promote reading as a joyful activity that brings people together and highlights the importance of mother tongue reading for children from immigrant backgrounds. Read more about the event and its program here: https://lnkd.in/dagwPE53 Don’t miss the opportunity to participate on September 7th, if you are in Athens. #InternationalLiteracyDay #literacy #reading United Nations #Greece #Athens

Deep reading, particularly through paper books, plays a crucial role in preparing our minds to navigate the challenges of the digital age. In today's context, reading stands as a cornerstone of democracy, fostering critical thinking and resilience against misinformation. Maria Deskur (Fundacja Powszechnego Czytania), Dr. Joerg F. Maas (Stiftung Lesen and chair of EURead) and Marc Lambert (Scottish Book Trust) are discussing the transformative power of deep reading amidst AI advancements during the Ashoka Changemaker Summit in Hamburg. More info: https://lnkd.in/ghs_-Ere #education #reading #decoding #AI #resilience