Countries give due value for the habit of reading and invest hugely to nurture it through various activities. In turn, countries that can promote and develop a high reading culture towards their citizens are able to generate skilled human power and an informed community that could think logically and rationally as well as respond to adversaries.
Ethiopia is also undertaking various activities to instill the culture of reading among its young generation. Because it is a valuable mechanism to achieve academic excellence, develop skilled human power as well as for continuous self-improvement, aside from being a lifelong wisdom, it is striving to inculcate reading habit among the young generation and make it their all-time activity.
Along with the other activities vital to cultivate the culture of reading, by organizing reading festivals and book fairs, it is endeavoring to make reading a culture among the people.
This year’s City-Wide Reading Festival and Book Fair was also organized and held for five consecutive days, from 25 January to 1st February, 2024 at the premises of the Addis Ababa Museum under the theme “Reader Generation for Nation’s Prosperity”.
At the festival, the city’s renowned publishing houses and distributors, booksellers, public and private university libraries, various embassy libraries, and others took part.
Subsequent to the festival, The Ethiopian Herald approached Library and Documentation Information Communication Technology Directorate Director with the Addis Ababa Culture, Arts and Tourism Bureau Addisu Mekonnen (PhD) to share his expertise and the activities the Bureau has been carrying out to cultivate and redevelop the culture of reading among the generation.
Reading has a number of rewards not only at individual level but also nationwide. Cognizant of the return, the Bureau organized the 8th round Addis Ababa City Reading Festival in collaboration with higher education institutions, reputed book publishers and distributors in a bid to raise awareness towards reading habits. The festival was celebrated under the motto ‘Reader Generation for Nation’s Prosperity.’ The prime goal of the festival was to increase awareness on how to nurture reading culture within the community.
According to him, families should provide children with reading materials and space; and above all, they should be role models by engaging themselves in reading to kindle their desire to read.
Though reading is regarded as the most important value that we all should nurture in a more organized and sustainable fashion, the habit is getting dwindled alarmingly. Social platforms have eroded the reading habit in many ways. Thus activities are ongoing to mend the crack; and families and schools are working on it for the common good, as to him.
Many young and adolescents as well as children spend more time bantering on trifle activities and watching useless videos, as well as chatting on social media platforms.
The Bureau has been organizing reading festivals to create opportunities for families and students to let them get different reading materials, trigger reading culture among the community and enable them to contribute their part to their country.
Referring to the feedback gathered from visitors, he said the festival was productive. Over seventy thousand residents of Addis Ababa visited the reading festival, and a number of publishers participated. The communities and schools are sensitized on ways to nurture reading culture,
Ethiopia needs more reader citizens who think logically and rationally. This aspiration could be met through promoting reading habits and investing time, energy as well as capital to this end.
He also called on pertinent stakeholders to strengthen efforts and nurturing reading culture amid the digital world. “In my view, working on improving reading culture within schools and out of school is a game changer activity to ensure quality education.”
What is more, schools need to create inspiring and engaging reading spaces for children because appealing reading spaces are essential to entice students’ interest and make reading a captivating experience. Reading classrooms should also be designed with the interests of children in mind. In nutshell, it should be more attractive and embellished with age-appropriate decorations than their home. Generally the spaces should have some kind of visual that could spark curiosity and capture attention.
The Bureau has exerted utmost effort to create distinct sections for various genres like fiction and non-fiction, mystery, adventure, as well as fantasy, in bid to allow students to find books that align with their interests.
“I think this kind of approach could allow students to immerse themselves in their chosen books,” he added.
The Bureau is at the helm of promoting early age reading habits because it improves children’s vocabulary, helps to improve academic performance as well as could serve as a source of entertainment for people of all ages. Moreover, it creates opportunities in enhancing self-confidence and a more knowledgeable generation.
Academicians and acclaimed psychologists agree that reading has a far reaching positive effect in supporting the development of critical thinking and enhances creativity and self-expression of an individual in many ways. Thus, they urge families and early childhood schools to tame children with reading habits at early ages because young people who view reading as enjoyable are much more likely to continue reading into their adulthood and enjoy these benefits.
Feraol Mulugeta is a fourth year Software Engineering student at Addis Ababa University Institute of Technology. As he stated, reading is an important tool that has the power to develop one’s mind. It offers an excessive knowledge and lifelong wisdom that could shape personality in many ways, paves ways to understand the world around us in a better fashion. The final outcome of reading is making our mind active, and enhancing creative ability, which means it has across-the-board impacts on quality of life.
“At my early age, I used to read books at home. My father was trying to provide me with various books. The books helped me a lot though he could not keep it up for various reasons. Without doubt, my early reading habits shaped my reading habits instilled to endurance, helped me to join a higher education institute.”
According to him, reading habits among the youth are deteriorating for various reasons and studying [reading] for exams is becoming common among the higher education students.
“My father used to tell us fairy tales. I am feeling that this kind of culture is fizzling out because of modernization, but it should revive as it has the power in shaping the skill and knowledge of children,” he opined.
The effort of the Bureau is commendable because it allows injecting the value of reading and opening opportunities for families to access reading materials for the reason there is shortage of reading material in a number of households and schools.
“My advice to parents and caregivers is that they should keep on encouraging young children to take time for reading at the earliest age,” he concluded.
At the festival, senior citizens and writers read poems and some chapters of books for the viewers. At the panel discussion stakeholders discussed the concerns they are facing providing library services at proximity and possible ways to undo the challenges through practical action.
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD FRIDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2024
