As part of the National Reading Promotion Campaign (NMSB) 2022, from 8 September (International Literacy Day) to 9 October (the last day of Children’s Week®), also this year, many activities and events promote a better understanding of the importance of reading literacy and reading culture at the national level.
We took the thought of the Irish writer and politician Richard Steele (1672–1729), “Reading is to the mind, what exercise is to the body,” as the starting point. With that, we wanted to emphasise the connection between reading and movement, mind and body – between movement, sports and mental development.
We want to connect reading and movement with:
- promoting/creating a healthy lifestyle, skills and development in general,
- the role of quality leisure time and relaxation,
- forming a creative personality and a positive attitude towards both reading and movement,
- lifelong development and enrichment of abilities in the field of reading and movement, such as vitality and well-being,
- movement tailored for people with different limitations, interests, needs, etc., and
- rehabilitative/therapeutic aspects of reading and movement.
We believe the connection between the culture of reading and movement is extensive; therefore, this year, we will pay special attention to:
- literary excursions/walks/guided tours, themed and fairy-tale trails (visiting memorials, visiting the birthplaces of authors, performances by the author, etc.),
- storytelling, reading in nature, also thematically linked to selected locations,
- establishing, maintaining, visiting and using BookCrossing,
- the connection between reading and various sports activities and
- preparing new, modern projects for different target groups.
We started the NMSB 2022 with the consultation entitled Visual Storytelling. From Illustration to Comics, which was organised on 9 September by the Reading Association of Slovenia in cooperation with the Institute of the Republic of Slovenia for Education. Indeed, visual literacy is crucial in understanding reading as a value and, at the same time, important for developing other specific and nowadays essential literacies, such as media and digital literacy.
Among the main events of the NMSB 2022, we have also included the national project Growing Up with a Book, the celebration of the Golden Book Day, the beginning of reading for the reading badge and autumn training, the holder of which is the Slovenian Reading Badge Association at the Slovenian Association of Friends of Youth, the #letsplaysportandread project and the ABC of Reading Literacy IV consultation, which is being organised by the Maribor Public Library between 3 and 7 October.
The entire calendar of events (in Slovenian) can be found on the NMSB 2022 website. It is also available on the Family literacy and pismen.si websites. The events are promoted on FB Reading together.
The artistic image of the NMSB 2022 was co-created by students of the Academy of Fine Arts and Design – Department of Visual Communication Design (majors: Photography, Graphic Design and Illustration). With the NMSB 2022, we are thus joining the European Year of Youth, and it was also traditionally associated with the LLW in May/June, coordinated by the SIAE.
Alenka Štrukelj (alenka.strukelj@acs.si), SIAE
