Across the United Kingdom, the Publisher’s Association has launched a program seeking out 10,000 recruits to work as ‘reading ambassadors.’ The purpose of these reading ambassadors will be to encourage and advance the practice of reading for pleasure.
This initiative is in response to studies carried out by National Literacy Trust and the ‘Read On Get On’ campaign, wherein they show, respectively, that one in six adults struggle with literacy and that one-fifth of students in England cannot read upon leaving primary school. As such the Publisher’s Association has sent out a call for volunteers to “share their love of reading with others.” The Association’s projected goal is for 10,000 reading ambassadors by the year 2020. The more definable responsibilities and duties of reading ambassadors would include such things as establishing book groups or volunteering at local libraries.
The program’s director of policy, Susie Winters, describes the program’s general premise as that of asking people to share their love and understanding of reading for pleasure, knowing the positive effects it can have on someone’s life. Ms. Winters emphasizes the importance of reading for pleasure, as the practice provides an outlet for creativity, an easily accessible for of entertainment, and exercises the mind. In addition, mounting evidence accrued over the years has shown that reading for pleasure plays a role in increasing one’s job prospects, improving proficiency in maths and sciences, and deepening one’s capacities for empathy. In Ms. Winters’s mind, these reasons are more than worth the Publishers’ Associations’ time and effort.
The initiative has already received support from such authors and illustrators as Philip Reeve and Sarah McIntyre. Ambassadors will be provided with the tools to carry out their mission, including information, resources, and guidance about spreading the love of reading. The program will also suggest ideas for ambassadors to implement, such as book corners at work or at community centres, or hosting blind date book sessions. Road shows will travel throughout the United Kingdom for recruitment, stopping at places like the Hay literary festival and the Edinburgh international book festival.
This article was taken from the Guardian.
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