NNC at Future 2.0 Forum: Investing in Literacy for Democracy, Sustainable Development and Human Capital
“Not all children have the opportunity to grow up surrounded by books. We need to think about those who are deprived of them.”
“Schools must teach children to THINK”
“The state is absent on literacy issues. It doesn’t see the fine details.”
These are just a few quotes from presentations by speakers at the Future 2.0 Forum : investing in literacy for democracy, sustainable development and human capital.
The event took place on 22.10.2024 in Sofia and brought together people working in different fields (institutions, academia, NGOs, business, media) and from different countries (Germany, the Netherlands, Finland).
In fact, the profile of the participants in the event demonstrated in practice one of the conclusions drawn at the end of the event – that in order to promote literacy, reading comprehension, critical reading skills – it is necessary to have a community of stakeholders. And that state, local government, schools, universities, libraries, parents – need to work together to have literate children.
The main aim of the event was to make a link between the deterioration of reading skills and a number of societal problems such as the reduced quality of education, the high percentage of young people not engaged in learning or work, the decline in the quality of the workforce, the lack of understanding of the causal links between individual actions and their impact on the environment, the lower interest in participating in cultural life and in taking a civic stance on important issues.
Structured in three main panels – past, present and future – the forum gave guests the opportunity to learn about the current situation, the benefits of investing in literacy from different perspectives, best practices from Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and the European Literacy Network EURead.
The initiative of the Finnish Reading Centre called “Book bag to every baby born” made a strong impression – in Finnish maternal and child health clinics every baby receives a bag with selected books as a gift. This programme promotes early reading and reading aloud to babies.The programme has been active (and very popular) since 2019. In June 2023 , after great success has been reported and baby book bags have reached over 250,000 families – “Book Bag to Every Baby Born” was included in the Finnish government programme. And the main reasons for starting this programme are: the motivation and enthusiasm for reading expressed by children and adolescents is one of the lowest in the world. The situation in Bulgaria is not much different….
It is appropriate to mention one more fact mentioned at the Forum – “that the ability and motivation to read is based to the greatest extent on early childhood experiences. The role of parents is particularly important in the early years when the child cannot read on his/her own”.
However, the role of the family in promoting reading and literacy does not stop in early childhood. Partnering with schools, guiding children to libraries, and encouraging them to develop and think critically is also part of parenting.
In turn, the education system should respond to the needs of young people (and to the specificities of Generation Z, to which was dedicated the presentation of Sibina Grigorova, managing editor of Boulevard Bulgaria) and encourage thinking, reading comprehension, asking adequate questions, not just memorizing the material.
Libraries – should have resources and books that are interesting and useful for children and adolescents.
Last but not least, the state has a responsibility to provide conditions and financial resources to promote reading and literacy. And not on a project basis, but through a robust national programme.
These are just a few of the conclusions and recommendations from the Forum, summarized in the last panel of the event, in which representatives of various organizations from Bulgaria discussed what steps should be taken to work on a comprehensive plan to solve the problems in the field of literacy, and thus – in all other areas of public life.
The last panel of the forum was attended by Diana Andreeva, Education Coordinator at the National Network for Children. She took part in a discussion with representatives of various organizations and institutions on the next steps to achieve long-term change in the environment in Bulgaria.
If you missed the conference, you can watch the live broadcast.
We would like to remind you that the National Network for Children is among the organizations supporting the National Pact for Reading. It was established on 17 November 2023 on the initiative of the Children’s Books Foundation and the Reading Foundation, the Books and Reading Association, the Global Libraries Foundation and the ABC Council. The mission and goals of the National Compact are available on the website HERE. Any organization or individual activist who believes that reading empowers can join the Alliance.