Great success of #ioleggoperché: donated one million books in four years to Italian schools

The #ioleggoperché project , the initiative of theItalian Publishers Association (AIE) in favor of school libraries, was a great success this year. This is the largest national initiative to promote reading: a vast collection of books, possible thanks to the collaboration between bookstores, schools, publishers, institutions and, of course, individual citizens, held between October 19 and 27. During this period, anyone could go to a bookstore and choose one or more books to donate to school libraries, with a commitment from AIE to add additional books at the end of the collection.

Participation has been very high: partial figures (86 percent of participating bookstores, more than 2,400, have been screened at the moment) reveal that for 2019, 273,676 books have been donated, to which another 100,000 books guaranteed by AIE publishers will be added. This will therefore bring the total to more than 370,000 books, which added to the approximately 650,000 collected in previous years, will bring the number of books collected by the initiative in four years to more than one million. And obviously distributed among the participating schools (15,000 schools registered this year, evenly distributed among North, Central, South and islands: last year there were 9,000).

This year’s was the most participated edition of #ioleggoperché ever. A few figures can give an idea of the involvement: more than three million students were involved, more than a thousand spontaneous events (including read alouds, meetings with the author, literary flash mobs, lectures, skills competitions, performances, window installations) organized in conjunction with the collection week, a thousand also the schools that joined the official contest. And then there are numerous passages of #ioleggoperché on television (a commercial was prepared and broadcast on all the main national networks, and in addition #ioleggoperché was also mentioned in the soap opera Un posto al sole. Great success on social media as well: over 25 million views, with reach of 5 million people (2.8 million on Facebook, 1.7 on Instagram and 700,000 on Twitter), with 1.2 million interactions. Banners of #ioleggoperché also appeared in ten stadiums of Serie A and Serie B, with Serie A players taking to the field carrying a book for 250 accompanying children, and Serie B players recording videos inviting people to donate books to their team’s hometown schools.

“This is the result of a great team effort,” said IEA President Ricardo Franco Levi. “Thanks to everyone who participated in the project to achieve the goal. But a special thanks goes to the testimonials Rudy Zerbi and Luciana Littizzetto, the partners, the authors (Paola Calvetti, Chiara Francini, Alessia Gazzola, Andrea Vitali) who helped us launch this edition, up to the spontaneous testimonials of the project: from Premier Giuseppe Conte to Undersecretary Martella and Deputy Minister Ascani. A gesture greatly appreciated by all of us because it sets an example for all Italians. The dream of exceeding 1 million books donated in total by #ioleggoperché since its inception has not only become a reality but has also been surpassed.”

“I am pleased with the success of this initiative for at least two reasons,” says Minister of Education, University and Research Lorenzo Fioramonti. “The first, is because it reminds us of the centrality of books in the education and growth of children, but I would say of anyone, because an adult who reads a book is a person who wants to continue growing. The second reason is equally important. This is a collective initiative, I would go so far as to say ’choral,’ where multiple parties do their share of passion and responsibility for the education of our boys. Without rhetoric, a wonderful goal.”

The event is organized and promoted by the Italian Publishers Association in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), the Italian Booksellers Association (ALI) and the Booksellers and Stationers Union (SIL), the Italian Library Association (AIB), the Center for Books and Reading, Confindustria - Culture and Development Technical Group, with the support of SIAE - Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori, and also boasts the patronage of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism (MIBACT) and the Bank of Italy.

Great success of #ioleggoperché: donated one million books in four years to Italian schools

Warning: the translation into English of the original Italian article was created using automatic tools. We undertake to review all articles, but we do not guarantee the total absence of inaccuracies in the translation due to the program. You can find the original by clicking on the ITA button. If you find any mistake,please contact us.