National Reading Month

By Madhushala Senaratne

October is the national reading month. A range of activities and competitions will be held throughout the coming month to mark the event this year. The events are organized by the National Library and Documentation Services Board and co-sponsored by Bank of Ceylon and Room to Read.

‘Read and conquer the world,’ is the theme of these events, which aims to encourage reading among people across the country, it was revealed at a news conference held at the National Library and Documentation Services Board last week.
This year's events include an essay competition and short-story competition as well as a variety of other events to be held in schools, libraries and other educational and cultural centres across Sri Lanka.

The prize giving of the poster and logo competitions will be held on October 30, at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute. The winning entries will also be exhibited at the National Library exhibition centre on October 18.

For older students, a series of conferences and lectures wll be held at district level, aimed at broadening their knowledge and developing reading habits. These events will feature lectures from representatives of various fields of study.

“In order to highlight the importance of reading and develop reading habits of people, the government of Sri Lanka declared October as the National Reading Month in 2004. However reading is not, and should not be limited to October,” said Ms. Dushyanthi Daniel of the National Library and Documentation Services Board and added that similar activities are carried out throughout the year.

"Reading changes a man, it transforms society," said Mr. E. A. Samarasinghe, Chairman of the National Library and Documentation Service Board. He encouraged the public to participate at these events.