I am in Addis Ababa where Ethiopia Reads is hosting our Second National Children’s Reading Summit on March 12-13, 2020. Dr Laurie Curtis, Chair of our Book Centered Learning Committee (BCL), longtime volunteer and BCL member Leanne Clark, ER co-founder and children’s author Jane Kurtz, and I have just arrived from Kansas, Oregon and California. We are eager to participate in this week’s exciting Children’s Reading Summit and to meet the incredible hundreds of people who are working to increase literacy in Ethiopia. The first Summit was an important venue for the exchange of ideas and solutions to increase children’s reading and literacy in Ethiopia.
We are delighted that the Ministry of Education endorsed our Summit and is actively participating with officials and educators from all regions of Ethiopia. This week’s Summit will focus on reading, the challenges of appropriate reading materials and developing an Ethiopian book publishing industry. It will begin by reviewing last year’s Summit results and discussing progress.
Ethiopian speakers from academia, the educational system and publishing industry will share their knowledge and insights. Yemisrach Worku, Ethiopia Reads’ Country Director, Dr. Curtis and Ms. Kurtz, and I will also present at the conference.
The Summit will exhibit a wonderful collection of 2018 prize-winning children’s books from 60 countries around the world – generously loaned by the Swiss IBBY International – to inspire writers, illustrators and all those involved in purchasing books and to raise the bar on creativity and quality.
ER continues our direct work with libraries and books. This Children’s Reading Summit was launched because we believe that to improve access to reading for Ethiopian children, we need to raise this issue nationally while involving all stakeholders. Ethiopian children need access to attractive and engaging reading materials to become fluent readers and to contribute to their own education and pleasure through reading.
The total budget is approximately $US20,000. Ethiopia Reads has been actively seeking outside funding, but we still need to raise over half the total costs. (Our US board members and volunteers funded their own expenses.)
Please consider making a contribution to this vital professional work that is creating an opportunity to change national policies for education, making hundreds more high quality libraries available to Ethiopian children, and perhaps, one day, to all 26 million school children in Ethiopia’s 35,000 primary schools.
Join Carol’s GoFundMe or Donate Here
With our heartfelt thanks!
From Malcolm Clark, President of Ethiopia Reads
Photo by Matt Andrea
