Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
On 25 March 2024, all Europeans are invited to (re)discover the joy of reading on European Authors' Day.
To mark this occasion, Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Iliana Ivanova, will attend a conference on promoting reading (25-26 March 2024). The event, hosted by Leuven, Belgium, will focus on addressing the decline in reading skills and habits among young people. It will bring together representatives of the ministries of culture and education from 40 countries in Creative Europe with the book and education sectors and NGOs.
Before the event, Commissioner Ivanova said: “Europe is fortunate to have a thriving and diverse literary history and culture. European Authors' Day is an important reminder that reading is important, at all ages and throughout Europe. In particular, all young people should be taught what the joy of reading is, as this is nothing less than our duty to our children. Finally, let me add that I am particularly pleased to see how, 10 years after the launch of Creative Europe, this funding program continues to reinvent itself to provide support where it is needed most by our cultural and creative sectors.
In addition to the conference, schools and libraries across Europe will host read-aloud sessions for children and young people. Last year, more than 1,000 schools participated in read-aloud sessions.
The Commission also organized a tour that included 120 European authors to share their works with young people, in cooperation with the European Book Council.
European Authors' Day is a Creative Europe initiative, which also supports the EU's literary and publishing sectors. Since 2014, Creative Europe has invested €2.5 billion in projects supporting cultural diversity and the creative industries.