The Van Mieu-Quoc Tu Giam (Temple of Literature-National Royal
School) in Hanoi will host this year’s Book and Reading Culture
Festival on April 20 to mark the World Book and Copyright Day.
The festival aims to promote reading and provide authors with an
opportunity to introduce their work. It will also offer visitors free
e-books and providing printed books to libraries and schools in rural
areas.
Nguyen Thi Thanh Mai, head of the Library
Department under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, said the
festival is expected to draw large numbers of students and young people.
With the theme of Books Change Life, a large number of
books covering a wide variety of fields from publishing houses across
the country will be introduced to readers during the festival.
Additionally, visitors will have an opportunity to participate in
educational games and buy books at discounted prices.
Other activities will include poetry and short story recitals as well as
an exhibition about writers who have won the prestigious Ho Chi Minh
award.
On the occasion, educational activists and
translators such as Bich Lan, who translated Nich Vujicic’s
autobiography Life without Limits, will take part in a seminar on the
role of books in society.
Ho Chi Minh City will also organise a “Reading Day” this weekend to promote reading, especially among young people.
The two-day event, to be held at the Labour-Culture Palace will
feature 12 major publishers and distributors, who will provide their
latest books for free for visitors to read.
There will be
discussions on reading habits and skills, featuring speakers such as
Pham Phuong Thao, former chairwoman of the municipal People’s Council,
and Ton Nu Thi Ninh, president of the Tri Viet Institute for
International Studies and Exchange.
An exhibition of books
and newspapers published between 1945 and 1954 will include the first
edition of writer Nam Cao’s Doi Mat (The Eyes) published by Van Nghe
(Literature and Arts) Publishing House in 1954, and a special edition
of Nhan Dan Mien Nam (People of South) newspaper on May 19, 1953, to
celebrate President Ho Chi Minh’s birthday.
Le Thai Hy,
director of the Department of Information and Communications, said the
event would be the first in a series of activities to promote reading,
along with the summer “reading month” event and a street book fair next
spring.-VNA