Children, parents, teachers, other community members, celebrities and politicians in Vietnam will participate in an exciting reading activity dubbed the Big Read on 23rd April 2009.

This event is an advocacy initiative with millions people in over 100 countries to promote literacy for youth and adults, and lifelong learning, which is launched by the Global Campaign for Education.

Under the theme “Read for a Better Life”, the participants will jointly read real short stories focusing on how reading and writing have changed lives of people and how illiterate adults miss out of the chance that an education gives them in life. The politicians will then make their commitments on illiteracy elimination in the whole country as well as in each locality after they discuss the problem with the audience including the poor, the ethnic minority and other vulnerable people.

The Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) is cooperating with the Global Campaign for Education coalition of international and local organizations, namely, ActionAid, Aide et Action, ChildFund, Church World Service, Global Advanced Program, Oxfam Great Britain, Vietnam – Belgium Education Project, UCNEV, UNESCO, UNICEF and World Vision to organize the event in the country.

Prior to the Big Read event, the MOET and the coalition of the organizations launched a one-month writing competition in early March, which encouraged people nationwide to write real stories, make poems and draw about illiteracy elimination. Nearly 20,000 entries have been received for judgment and the finalists will be announced at the national event. Outstanding stories will be presented during this event and to be selected to produce a Big Read story book for Vietnam.

The local events will be held in most provinces and cities throughout Vietnam while the national one is scheduled to take place in Tu Son Town of Bac Ninh Province, 30 kilometers north from Hanoi.

The Global Campaign for Education (GCE), founded in 1999, brings together major non-governmental organizations and teachers’ unions in more than 120 countries. The Global Campaign for Education has a different theme each year. This year’s theme is ‘Youth and Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning’. The campaign 2009 aims at increasing local awareness on literacy and lifelong learning, and calling for the investment of the governments, concerned departments, social organizations and community members in non-formal education, especially education for adults.

VietNamNet/CPV