Library for Every School
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The “Albania Reads” program’s primary objective is to promote reading. On March 7, The Teachers’ Day, this project was officially launched at the “Emin Duraku” elementary school in Tirana. Representatives from UNICEF and the Mjaft! Foundation (the philanthropic branch of Mjaft! Movement) donated more than one hundred books to this school’s library.
Mr. Carr (UNICEF) and Erion Veliaj (Mjaft! Movement) were present at this event as well as other representatives from these two organizations and the Mjaft! Foundation. Recent findings show that, in comparison with other European nations, reading and literary activities are on the decline in Albania. Another study, targeting conditions in northern Albania, has revealed shocking data - only 11% of the children there have access to books and it has the lowest rate of book sales nationwide. The ‘Albania Reads” initiative is a project implemented by UNICEF and it is part of a larger promotional campaign organized by UNICEF and the Mjaft! Foundation. This campaign was launched in 2006 and aims to establish a library in each public school as well as to generally encourage reading in Albania. Reopening school libraries nationwide is part of the project’s reform strategy, which will be implemented to improve the quality of education in Albania, all the while remaining well-aligned with the strategic objectives of UNICEF and the Mjaft! Foundation. Initially, it will focus on establishing libraries in all public schools nationwide, specifically targeting northern Albanian cities such as Kukës, Tropoja and Dibër where the need for books is more exigent. The project will then expand to the rural areas surrounding Tirana, Durrës, Korca, Fier and Shkodër. Although the initiative is focused on the establishment of school libraries, other related activities will also be organized; these activities include readers’ corner, trainings for teachers, the creation of a children’s magazine, setting standards for qualitative literature, a promotional media campaign and many other activities that are currently being jointly organized by the Mjaft! Foundation and UNICEF. Many other private and public institutions have made contributions to this project. We would like to express our gratitude to the publishing housings that have donated more than 5000 books to the initiative and have promised to donate twice as many to the “Donate a book to the forgotten libraries” campaign that Mjaft! Movement is organizing. The Ministry of Education and Science, the Chamber of Commerce and several municipalities are joining this initiative as well. |
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