'Reading for All', 10 years of working for the future
Egypt, Education, 4/16/2001

'Reading for All' project, which started in the early 1990s was motivated by the realization that a new century was about to begin, ushering in a new era of scientific and technological leaps, and a freedom for mankind in which he will reach new realms of infinite knowledge and where happiness and progress will prevail.

The project, according to Eypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, the sponsor of the great project, was inspired by the fact that ours is a nation with a great history. The intellectual material, scientific and philosophical progress of the ancient Egyptian civilization remains a mystery to this day. No other civilization achieved as much progress or uncovered as many unfathomable secrets as Ancient Egypt did.

As the new century dawns on us, the key to justice, freedom and equality seems to reside in one magic word: knowledge. The 21st century will be the century of knowledge and information. The key to knowledge is reading. Other necessities of the new era include the computer, the Intemet and opening up to the global village. A new all-encompassing outlook that incorporates various branches of human knowledge, through reading and other media, could equip people with the necessary tools to survive and achieve progress in the new century.

The vital question posed back in the early 1990s was: 'Shall we wait for the new century without trying to catch up with progress?' There was only one answer. The last ten years of the twentieth century were decisive not only for Egypt but for the whole world. We decided not to wait for the new century, but to venture into taking the necessary initiative ten years ahead.

The beginning was simple. We worked with existing school libraries and built new public libraries in under-serviced neighborhoods surrounding them with elegant gardens. Soon enough, these libraries grew into centers of enlightenment, knowledge, wonder and pleasure. They became places where people could journey into the creative expanses of the imagination and the vast world of knowledge.

According to a specific strategy, the Integrated Care Society launched the project with the establishment of scores of libraries. This strategy was based on a belief in the value of reading for educating new generations, and in the right of every adult or child in Egypt to have access to reading. It is a right equal to the right to education, health care, adequate nutrition, or even the right to life itself.

This clear vision was the basis of a national reading campaign, which developed into an attempt to cultivate and consolidate the spiritual, intellectual and emotional values cherished by Egyptian society. Culture is widely believed to be the best investment in the course of building new societies for the future. For Egypt, it is also a gateway into the 21st century and a means of consolidating national security. We must foster the principles of knowledge, progress, democracy, tolerance, social peace and development.

Anticipating the new century, the national Reading for AII campaign soon developed into the Reading for All Project. This project, in a sense, had a great significance. It celebrated the value and pleasure of learning nation-wide.

The campaign further introduced a model of cooperation between NGOs, (spearheaded by the Central Integrated Care Society), government ministries, official bodies and governorates.

In addition to thousands of libraries being opened to the public in the summer, there was also a publishing component in the project In the project's fourth year, a Family Library scheme was introduced to print millions of copies of important titles by leading authors in the fields of art, literature, the history of ideas, science and religion, including encyclopedic works that shaped the minds of the Arab world's renaissance.

The national Reading for All campaign has been commended by international organization, particularly UNESCO, which called for the transfer of this model as far as may be appropriate to other national environments. Egypt's national experience has thus had universal ramifications.

Previous Stories:
  Egypt, Japan cooperate in educational projects   (4/14/2001)
  Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak sponsors new reading project   (4/14/2001)
  Education is a national duty   (3/21/2001)

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