SAN FRANCISCO, September 25, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Worldreader, the global nonprofit that helps the world read, in partnership with the Ghana Ministry of Education, today announces the launch of Ghana's first-ever annual National Reading Day, bringing together the non-profit, private and public sectors to promote reading and celebrate life-changing reading initiatives across Ghana and Africa. Worldreader and the Ministry seek to raise awareness of the importance of reading, recognize readers throughout the country and highlight a large scale digital reading joint initiative between Worldreader and the Municipal Education Office in Kwaebibirem, called Ghana District Scale and supported by Amazon and private philanthropists.
As part of this initiative, Worldreader and the Ghana Ministry of Education are promoting reading via reading festivals, essay competitions and related events organized by the Ministry via the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, Ghana Library Authority, Non Formal Education Division and the Ghana Book Development Council. On National Reading Day, in every region of the country, reading activities are taking place. The Ghana Ministry of Education is working to empower its agencies to be innovative and creative to improve the reading culture in the country.
"We hope that through the institution of National Reading Day, we can encourage all key stakeholders to continue their efforts in helping us create a more literate nation," said Dr. Adutwum, Deputy Minister of Education (General Education), Ghana Ministry of Education. "There is a deep need to amplify and better inform the public of the power of reading and the current Ministry initiatives to help communities read, learn and grow. The Ministry is seeking to stay creative and smart about improving literacy and reading skills among the youth across the nation and is thrilled to be using digital means to do so. We look forward to improving the culture of reading across Ghana with the help of organizations such as Worldreader."
To mark the occasion, Worldreader Ghana Board member and Ghana's beloved Rap Doctor, Okyeame Kwame along with his children, is supporting National Reading Day by launching a song and video about the power of reading to improve lives, titled Read. "Music is a powerful tool for inspiring and motivating the masses. It should also be used to help redefine and transform attitudes about reading among the youth. This is what we aim to achieve with this song," stated Okyeame.
Citizens in Ghana can join National Reading Day by posting pictures and videos on social media channels, dancing to Okyeame's reading song and using the hashtags #NationalReadingDay and #ReadingChallenge.
Amazon is supporting the National Reading Day effort by donating 10,000 Kindle devices to Worldreader over the next three years. The Ghana District Scale project will benefit from Amazon's support and will be key in galvanizing entire communities around reading at the primary school level.
"Amazon and Worldreader share a belief that digital reading can create new reading and learning opportunities for people around the world," said Sherif Yacoub, Vice President, Kindle. "We're thrilled to support Worldreader and believe the Ghana District Scale project and National Reading Day will help strengthen reading in Ghanaian communities."
A launch event will be held at the British Council in Accra, Ghana to commemorate National Reading Day with keynotes from the Deputy Minister of Education, Dr. Adutwum and Worldreader CEO and Co-Founder, David Risher. Ghanaian Musician and Worldreader Board member, Okyeame Kwame and his children Sante and Sir Kwame will also release their reading song and music video during the launch. On September 27th, Worldreader will hold a final reading durbar in Kwaebibirem, mobilizing parents, community members and invited guests to actively participate in reading initiatives.
"Reading is opportunity. It sets free the potential locked up in all of us. Worldreader aims to help a billion people read so they become tomorrow's scientists, doctors, inventors, and explorers," said David Risher, Worldreader's CEO & Co-Founder. "We're proud to be partnering with like-minded organizations in Ghana and around the world to build a culture of reading and help thousands improve their lives."
Worldreader, the Ghana Ministry of Education and Okyeame Kwame encourage all citizens of Ghana to participate in Ghana's first annual National Reading Day by sharing their reading moments on social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp. Just use the hashtag #NationalReadingDay #ReadingChallenge. We encourage citizens to post photos and videos of reading moments and/or dancing to Okeayame's song, which can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/OneMicGh.
About Worldreader
Worldreader is a global nonprofit whose mission is to help the world read. The organization provides students and their families with a free digital library available on e-readers and mobile phones, complemented with a suite of reading support programs. Since 2010, over 9 million people across 50 countries have read from their digital library of over 35,000 local and international e-books. Worldreader works with device manufacturers, local and international publishers, government agencies, education officials, and local communities to help readers worldwide.
To read free books on your mobile phone, visit read.worldreader.org. For more information on Worldreader, please visit http://www.worldreader.org.
About The Ghana Ministry of Education
The Ghana Ministry of Education is responsible for all policies on education, including wider skills acquisition in Ghana. The Ministry works to provide education that ensure opportunity is equal for all, no matter what a person's background or family circumstances, it's vision is to a) provide relevant education to all Ghanaians at all levels to enable them to acquire skills that will assist them to develop their potential in order to be productive and b) the promotion of a technology culture at all levels of society to facilitate poverty reduction and to promote socio-economic growth and national development.
For further information contact:
Carol Williams
Director West Africa, Worldreader
+233 54 012 2490 | [email protected]
Nadja Borovac
Director of Communications, Worldreader
+34 618 399 102 | [email protected]
Dr. Yaw Adutwum
Deputy Minister of Education (General)
Ghana Ministry of Education
+233 20 633 5932
SOURCE Worldreader
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