25 Years of Pan-European Action for Literacy

For a quarter of a century, EURead has united reading promoters from across Europe, sharing successful program designs and policy strategies to foster a culture of reading. EURead’s goal is to apply practical, research-based solutions to reduce functional illiteracy and its long-term effects. The network provides a platform for knowledge exchange that informs policies and supports decision-makers.

EURead is a network of 35 organisations from 26 European countries, working together since 2000 to promote reading and improve literacy. Finland’s representative in the network is The Finnish Reading Center. EURead is working under the auspices of Katarina Barley, vice-president of the European Parliament.

EURead member organisations meet in Brussels in June

Each year, EURead organises a General Meeting to share progress, exchange good practices, and strengthen collaboration across the network. This year the meeting takes place in Brussels, June 10 and 11. The aim of the meeting is to promote practical solutions to sustain European literacy in the future.

In Brussels, the Finnish Reading Center will influence the conditions for literacy and common European objectives by meetings with Finnish MEPs. At the General Meeting the Reading Center will present programmes launched to strengthen reading among young people, such as Words Matter and the Olympic Poetry Team campaign.

Since 2023, the annual General Meeting has included a public Open Forum, welcoming a broader audience to take part in discussions on the role of reading in democracy, sustainable development, human capital, national security, and other key societal challenges. The Open Forum takes place in the Belgian National Library, June 11.

The need for bookgifting programmes for children and families is recognised internationally

In addition to EURead, the Finnish Reading Center is part of the Global Network for Early Years Bookgifting, a worldwide network of children’s bookgifting programmes. The network aims to share good practice in implementing bookgifting programmes, such as Finland’s A Book Bag to Every Baby programme. The network includes more than 30 organisations from six continents.

The Global Network for Early Years Bookgifting will also meet in Brussels on Thursday 12 June, bringing together experts from around the world.

Read more about EURead: euread.com
Read more about Global Network for Early Years Bookgifting: globalnetwork.euread.com