Etusivu > News >

Day of European Authors is Celebrated for the First Time on March 27 – Reconnecting Younger Generations With Reading

Day of European Authors is Celebrated for the First Time March 27 – Reconnecting Younger Generations With Reading

The Day of European Authors is an initiative of the European Commission, led by Commissioner Mariya Gabriel. The Commission and European Writers’ Council organise a tour of European authors in different EU countries, including Finland. The Finnish Reading Center represents Finland at a conference on reading promotion in Sofia, Bulgaria. The initiative of the Day of European Authors is to inspire youths to read.

The European Commission is organising a one-day conference in Bulgarian capital Sofia on reading promotion, as a part of the Day of European Authors. The event is gathering Member States’ representatives of the ministries of Culture or Education, relevant public institutions and national non-governmental organisations active in this field. The conference is an opportunity to share examples and practices on reading promotion actions at local, national and European level. The Finnish Reading Center’s director Emmi Jäkkö and Silja Hakulinen from the Ministry of Education and Culture are representing Finland at the conference. Participants at the conference are invited to discuss reading promotion in schools, as well as new ideas on inspiring young people to read.

On the Day of European Authors the Commission organises a tour of over 100 European authors. The authors will visit secondary schools around Europe and encourage students to discover European literature. In Finland, authors Maaria Päivinen, Magdalena Hai and Markku Löytönen visit schools during the day. The visits are organised by European Writers’ Council’s member organisations The Union of Finnish Writers (Suomen Kirjailijaliitto), The Finnish Authors’ Copyright Society (Sanasto) and The Association of Finnish Nonfiction Writers (Suomen tietokirjailijat).

The celebration wants to help youngsters reconnect with books and to discover the diversity of European literature. The Day of European Authors also aims to show how literature can be a tool for individual empowerment. Books and reading can enable people in secondary education to engage with ongoing social and personal challenges. The Day is also an opportunity to emphasise the importance of all the programs and initiatives already running in individual EU countries to promote reading.

 

Read more on the European Comissions webpage: Day of European Authors

#ReadWithEurope