Special Features - National Year of Reading

The National Year of Reading has kicked off celebrating reading in all its forms.

National Year of Reading
(17/01/08)

The 2008 National Year of Reading (NYR) has kicked off celebrating reading in all its forms.

Whether it's the spoken, sung or written word or reading for education, business or pleasure, the overall focus is the same - to inspire everyone to read more.

Everyone getting involved

Campaigns and other activities have been scheduled throughout the year with local authorities, schools and businesses among the many institutions taking part.

Employers even have been encouraged to turn old smoking rooms into mini libraries and parents to read to their children for 10 minutes a day.

Each month has a special reading theme which include:

Holiday and summer reads in June
The influence of sport and how this can help promote reading in August
Writing, texting, blogging in December

A confidence boost

Although everyone is encouraged to take part in NYR, reluctant readers, those with low confidence, young boys and dads are the primary targets.

"We need children, adults, and families to be reading because they love it and appreciate the opportunities that reading brings - not because people like me say it's important," explained Ed Balls, Secretary from the Department for Children, Schools and Families at the NYR launch at 10 Downing Street. "It's never too late to improve your reading skills."

Online information

If you're interested in finding out more, you can log on to the official National Year of Reading 2008 website. There you will find information on the planned activities along with downloadable resources for school children and adults.

No matter where you are in the world you too can sample some of the best reading material by great British wordsmiths. The British Council's Contemporary Writers in the UK database is a good place to find out the range of authors on the scene.

There's also an opportunity to join one of the many reading groups set up by the British Council by visiting EncompassCulture website. All you need to do is get reading!

Related links
More about Literature on i-uk