“Reading Culture Ambassador” Contest: Spreading reading culture in schools and communities

With a variety of contest forms, the “Reading Culture Ambassador” contest held over the past 3 years has attracted a large number of students at all levels in the province, contributing to spreading reading culture in schools and community.

Students admire the winning entries displayed at the 2023 contest’s closing and awarding ceremony

The “Reading Culture Ambassador” contest has been launched by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism since 2019 with the aim to promote and form reading habits and skills for students nationwide, contributing to the development of reading culture in schools and community. The contest has become a useful playground, attracting more and more students by diverse forms.

Improve quality and quantity after 3 annual contests

Realizing the benefits of the Reading Culture Ambassador contest, since 2021, Lang Son province has begun to respond and launch the contest. Since the first year of organization, the “Reading Culture Ambassador” contest in Lang Son province has attracted a large number of students from 373 schools in the province with over 6,000 entries. Through the district-level preliminary round, 123 entries entered the provincial final round. By 2022, the contest has attracted a large number of students from 341 schools in the province with 27,965 entries (up 4 times compared to 2021). Through the district-level preliminary round, 142 entries entered the provincial preliminary round. As a result of 2021 – 2022 period, the Organizing Committee awarded prizes to 58 individuals with excellent entries, at the same time selected the 40 best entries and sent to the national final round organized by the Library Department, Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

In 2023, Lang Son province still launched and organized a provincial-level competition without the call from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism with a view to continuously creating a playground for students. The contest was launched from May 5 to June 18. After more than a month, the contest has attracted a large number of students from 372 schools in the province with 26,212 entries. Through the district-level preliminary round, there were 191 entries entered the provincial final round (up 49 entries compared to 2022). The Organizing Committee awarded 33 awards to the authors with the best entries.

Participating in the “Reading Culture Ambassador” contest, students could share about a favorite book or a book that has changed their perception or life, compose a story or poem to encourage people to read books, write a sequel to a story or book that they have read… Mr. Phan Van Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Deputy Head of the Organizing Committee, Head of the Competition Jury said: “Most of the entries demonstrated excellent, impressive ideas in choosing books to share, the written content showed the students’ creativity. They showed their true passion for books, pouring their hearts out in every page and dedicating their whole heart to writing their entries. Many entries are elaborately and beautifully presented, with maturity in expression, depth in thought and innocence in feeling.”

A typical example in the city is Chu Van An High School for the Gifted. This is one of the units that always maintains achievement in the “Reading Culture Ambassador” contest over the years. In 2023 alone, the school has 4 students winning 5 awards (1 second prize, 1 third prize, 2 consolation prizes, 1 best clip award), of which Le Viet Thy, class 10D1, had an excellent entry winning the third prize and best clip award.

Teacher Le Thi Manh Khuong, Vice Principal of Chu Van An High School for the Gifted, said: “In recent years, to improve reading culture in the school, we have built an outdoor library and added a number of books into traditional libraries from socialized sources, creating conditions for students to access books and form a reading culture in school. The reading culture ambassador contest demonstrates effective spreading reading culture in schools.”

Hoang Thi Tra My, a student of class 8C, To Hieu Commune Secondary School, Binh Gia district is one of the contestants who won many awards from the contest. She has won prizes of this contest in 3 consecutive years with 1 second prize (2021), 2 first prizes (2022 and 2023). In 2023, she became happy twice when her younger brother Hoang Thien Phuc, class 4A2, Binh Gia Town Primary School also won the first prize at the primary school level.

Sharing about her passion for reading, Tra My said: “My mother is the person who inspires me a lot because ever since I was little, she often read books to me. Since I learned to read, I have chosen my favorite books to read myslef. At first I read comic books and then books such as seeds of the soul, noble hearts… Gradually reading books became my joy.”

“I spent 8 years studying and working in Japan. I realized that they have an admirable reading culture that made me change my academic thinking and way of life. Therefore, I also formed a habit and passion of reading books, writing books, and translating books. To date, I have written and translated more than 90 books on education, history, culture and participated in talks and lectures on education and reading culture at ministries, sectors, and localities. In Lang Son, I also had many conversations with different audiences, including many young people, students. I hope to spread that reading culture to young people, pupils and students in Lang Land so that they will be more passionate about reading, turning reading into a regular living habit, it both also helps to cultivate cultural background and professional background, and at the same time to assist people to live in a way that they know how to “enjoy” because reading books is what makes our lives richer.” Speaker Nguyen Quoc Vuong

 

Continuing to spread the contest and the passion for reading

In the current era, reading culture receives attention from many people as an important cultural activity of people through reading books, newspapers or documents to search for information and knowledge in a scientific way.

Reading culture has great significance in cultivating knowledge and skills and helping to form and complete the personality of people, especially the young generation. Therefore, the success of the “Reading Culture Ambassador” contest over three seasons has shown that the current young generation is still passionate about reading and they fall into no neglect with reading culture. Lang Son province’s current regular organization of the contest not only creates a playground for students but also gradually creates a reading movement in schools, becoming a truly meaningful practical for activity them… Thereby, they will become people who inspire reading and spread reading culture in the community.

Mr. Nguyen Dang An, Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism said: “From the success of organizing the “Reading Culture Ambassador” contest in the past 3 years, in the coming time, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will continue to coordinate with the Department of Education and Training and other relevant agencies to provide information and raise awareness of families, schools, communities and the whole society about the importance of developing and spreading reading culture. At the same time, we will continue to encourage all classes of people, especially students, officials, civil servants, and public employees to build and maintain a reading habit, promote the application of information technology in library and school activities, increase the circulation of books and newspapers, serving the lifelong learning needs of the people, especially the young generation. Along with that, it is necessary to actively promote the mobilization of socialization resources to serve the development and spread of reading culture in schools and community.