Brussels, 22 March 2024
On 25 March 2024, all Europeans are invited to (re)discover the joy of reading on the Day of European Authors.
To mark this occasion, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, is attending a conference on reading promotion (25-26 March 2024). Hosted in Leuven, Belgium, the event will focus on tackling young people’s declining reading skills and habits. It will bring together representatives from ministries of culture and education from the 40 Creative Europe countries with the book, education and NGO sectors.
Ahead of the event, Commissioner Ivanova said:
“Europe is fortunate to have a thriving and diverse literary history and culture. The Day of European Authors is an important reminder that reading matters, at all ages and in all corners of Europe. And in particular all young people should be taught what a pleasure reading can be, this is nothing less but our duty to our children. Finally, let me add that I am particularly happy to see how 10 years after the launch of Creative Europe, this funding programme continues to reinvent itself to bring support where it is most needed by our cultural and creative sectors.”
In addition to the conference, schools, bookshops and libraries across Europe will be hosting reading aloud sessions for children and young people (interactive map of all events available online). Last year, over 1000 schools participated in reading aloud sessions.
The Commission has also organised a tour featuring 120 European authors to share their work with youth, together with the European Writers’ Council.
The Day of European Authors is a Creative Europe initiative, which also supports EU’s literary and publishing sectors. Since 2014, Creative Europe has invested €2.5 billion in projects supporting cultural diversity and the creative industries.
More information and events near you are available here.
Source – EU Commission