Appearing at a news conference focusing on the "Small Book – Great Man" campaign, Piotr Gliński said the drive represented “a gift from all of us, from the Polish people, from Polish society, to our kids - so that they read more and have their parents and carers read to them more often too.”
He explained the campaign was launched in 2017 and consisted of providing free books to three groups: infants in 350 maternity wards; kindergarten pupils; and schoolchildren up to the age of nine, mainly through libraries.
Gliński added that so far the government has handed “more than 3 million beautiful books,” worth PLN 41 million (around EUR 9 million) in total.
“It’s a selection of the most intriguing and seminal literary works, magnificently illustrated by the likes of Józef Wilkoń,” Gliński told reporters, referring to the world-famous Polish graphic artist and sculptor.
Recounting the benefits of the campaign, Gliński said that “reading fuels intellectual and emotional growth, boosts interpersonal bonds in families, and so the campaign is extremely needed and it is being further developed.”
Gliński also voiced hope that the drive would help improve readership levels in Poland.
'We invest in our children'
Actress Emilia Komarnicka-Klynstra, one of the faces behind the readership campaign, said reading books to the youngest generation “is the biggest investment that we, as parents, can make in the growth of our children.”
She added that even reading for 20 minutes a day produced “spectacular results” for kids, who are "destined to take the world into their care one day."
By reading to the younger generation, “we invest in our children, we invest in our relationships with them, but we also invest in a better tomorrow for us all,” Komarnicka-Klynstra told reporters.
Financed by the culture ministry, the "Small Book – Great Man" campaign is co-organised by the Polish Book Institute.
More information can be found here.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, instytutksiazki.pl