Read Hour
Campaign challenges everyone to read for an hour on the 8th of September.
Find your way of reading.
Spend just one hour of your day on 8th September reading, whether that be a book, magazine or comic book – everything is encouraged. Share your best reading tips and encourage everybody to join on social media with hashtags #ReadHour and #ReadHourUK.
You can download Moomin-inspired campaign images from Read Hour image bank to share on social media.
Read Hour greetings from around the world
The President of Finland: “Through books, we may become acquainted with different cultures”
President of the Republic of Finland, Sauli Niinistö is the Patron of the Read Hour Literacy Campaign 2021: “Through books, new worlds are opened up to us. We may become acquainted with different cultures and ways of thinking. Moreover, literature shows that people around the world are ultimately rather similar.”
Natalia de la Ossa, London: “You don’t have to be a Reader, but you can be anything by reading”
“I ended up being a bookseller by accident, really. I was always fascinated by books because my family encouraged reading a lot. At one point in my life, I needed a job very quickly, and I went into Blackwells that I used to visit, and knew the store by heart…”
Helena Bross, Stockholm: ”Children’s books are gateways to literature and reading”
“It was difficult for me to learn how to read and write. I did not understand letters, and I was too afraid to ask for help. In the second grade, I was diagnosed with dyslexia. In the third grade, I was moved to a special class that had also other children with dyslexia. They called the class ’a reading class’…”
Heidi Iivari, Tartu: “You’re never alone when you are reading”
“There is a strong culture around reading in Estonia. I believe that it actually strengthened when Estonia was a part of the Soviet Union because books were so cheap. Books were a cultural product that was supported and by reading you could advance your own language…”
Read Hour UK
In the UK, Read Hour will be celebrated for the first time in September 2021. Many bookshops, charities and celebrities will take part in the celebrations. See all Read Hour UK events.
Only one in four young people consider reading cool – Read Hour challenges to read for an hour on UN Literacy Day
A Finnish initiative, Read Hour, spreads from 1 September to 8 September. It will culminate on UN Literacy Day on 8 September for a reading hour throughout Finland and beyond. The aim of the Read Hour campaign is to instil a new festival dedicated to literacy and to raise the topic of declining reading, especially among young people.
In cooperation with
Main partners of Read Hour in 2021 include Moomin Characters, WSOY, Alfred Kordelin Foundation, Svenska kulturfonden.
Partners of Read Hour include Sanoma, Soome instituut, Alma Media, Deloitte, Meltwater, Lukuliike, Finnkino, Bonnierförlagen, Jodel, Keskisuomalainen, Mediateko, Svenska folkskolans vänner, Riot, TietoEVRY.
The campaign is supported by Aku Ankka, Bonnier Carlsen, Ebban, Finlandsinstitutet, Funnys Äventyr, Förlaget, Isobar, Junibacken, Läsrörelsen, Lukukeskus, Macmillan Children’s Books, Miltton, Norræna húsið, Oxfam, The Point, Red Cross, SelmaStories, Sort Of Books, Svensk biblioteksförening, Svenska barnboksinstitutet, Sydkustens landskapsförbund, Finnish School in Tartu, Waterstones.
Questions about the Read Hour campaign?
Producer
Heidi Enbacka
heidi.enbacka@nuori.fi
040 131 9185