Greece Hosts the Annual General Meeting of EURead
Literacy levels are drastically decreasing among all age groups across Europe. In light of the 2024 European Parliament elections, the European network of organisations promoting reading and literacy is urging all European politicians to support the development of a strong literate society that can ensure the preservation of the core democratic values and the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
On June 3rd and 4th 2024, Athens will host this year’s general meeting of EURead, the literacy network, which will take place outside Brussels for the second time. Under the motto ‘Promoting literacy in a changing world’, the summit will bring together leading experts from more than 15 countries, specializing in literacy, reading promotion, education, publishing, and communications.
During the forum, participants will exchange experiences and present projects and initiatives for promoting reading at national and global levels. Participants will discuss the effects of new media and will search for new strategies and pathways to ensure that reading is on the agenda of politicians at both the European and national levels, amongst other topics.
The meetings will be opened by Bettina Wenzel, Director of Goethe Institute – Athens, Katarina Barley, Vice-President of the European Parliament, and Andrew Kay, CEO of World Literacy Foundation. The Finnish Reading Center’s Director Emmi Jäkkö is presenting the work of the Global Network For Early Years Bookgifting, and the Finnish book gift program A Book Bag to Every Baby.
After the General Meeting, EURead members will participate in another event in Athens on the 4th of June, 2024. The Open Forum “Literacy and Democracy in the Era of Technology and Information: Facts, Challenges, Strategies,” organized in light of the forthcoming EU elections, will outline the daunting challenges our societies face and how these should be overcome in the name of safeguarding democratic principles. Among the speakers are Prof. Adriaan van der Weel (Leiden University, the Netherlands), Prof. Venetia Apostolidou (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki), Marc Lambert (Scottish Book Trust, UK).
About EURead
Founded in 2000, EURead is a consortium of 34 organizations from 23 European countries that continuously exchange knowledge and expertise to develop ideas and strategies aimed at promoting reading. The network includes some of the most influential organizations dedicated to literacy and reading, such as Stiftung Lesen, Stichting Lezen, Book Trust, The Scottish Book Trust, Federation of European Publishers, The Finnish Reading Center, and in Bulgaria, the “Children’s Books” Foundation.
Among the network’s implemented initiatives and projects are the campaign “Europe Reads” to promote literacy, the Global Network for Early Years Bookgifting, The Researchers Network; participation in panels addressing reading issues, functional and media literacy at book fairs in Bologna and Frankfurt, and involvement in the European Commission conferences for the first and second “Day of European Authors”.