2. Reading strand: Reader Development is a package to introduce a reader-centred approach to literature work within British Council offices and to advocate and provide training in reader development to partners within a library, education, publishing or bookselling context.

This part of the project began with British Council offices establishing reading groups in partnership with external organisations. For example, in Vietnam, children’s reading corners have been set up in the National Library.

Young readers in Vietnam

Tom Forrest travelled to Vietnam in July 2007 to build relationships with libraries, encourage them in their reader development work and to participate in public events as part of the wider literature programme taking place as part of the regional project.

While there, Tom toured public libraries cross Vietnam to discuss reader development programmes and projects. His talk at the Literature Café was part of a programme that included a new books session and discussion about contemporary writing in Vietnam.

In October, Alan Pulverness attended the CDCE-CETA conference and the Anvil Publishers event in Manila to get ideas across about reading across cultures to larger audiences of teachers and students. Alan gave a talk at the Anvil event and had the pleasure of chairing a discussion with four leading Filipino writers. He also facilitated a discussion on the teaching of literature for the Teachers’ Club at the British Council office in Manila.  Alan then travelled to Singapore and went on to introduce principles and practices for setting up and maintaining reading groups for the British Council in Singapore. He helped to provide the participants with a reading group experience considering that the concept of reading groups was new to all but a few of them.

Strand objectives

•To get more people reading in the six target countries, and reading more widely
•To showcase UK creativity in reader development activity
•To provide training for external partners in sustainable reader development approaches.
•To advocate a reader-centred approach to internal and external contacts to ensure maximum impact of live literature and literature education activities generated by other strands of Animating Literature East Asia

What’s next?

Follow-up activity will take place in 2008-09.