Reading Promotion

Discussion explores how different cultures and education systems shape children's reading habits and which successful practices we can learn from and adapt. We will examine the roles of families, schools, and communities in fostering a love of reading and consider how international perspectives help us better understand children's motivation and reading engagement. The conversation offers inspiring examples and practical ideas that can be applied within our own educational and cultural contexts.

Across Europe (and globally), boys consistently score lower than girls on reading assessments such as PIRLS and PISA. The reasons aren’t simple—but research points to a combination of factors. For instance, reading is stereotyped (and promoted) as a quiet hobby, that helps you develop your empathy skills. Does this give girls an advantage? Or is this issue an example of a self-fulfilling prophecy, in which boys lack male reading roll models at home or school, reinforcing the idea that reading is 'not for them'? And do we, the reading promoters, design our literacy and reading interventions with boys in mind? This panel discussion brings together reading promoters from across Europe to discuss effective strategies for engaging boys in reading.

Established in 1967 by IBBY, International Children’s Book Day is celebrated annually on or around Hans Christian Andersen’s birthday, April 2nd. Every year it is sponsored by a different IBBY Section, which crafts a poster and message and inspires reading activities, both locally and worldwide. 2026 is sponsored by IBBY Cyprus under the inspiring motto “Plant Stories and the World will Bloom”. From the creative process to the organization of reading campaigns, this roundtable brings together IBBY members from across Europe to discuss the importance of ICBD and the many festive ways to instil the love of reading to children.

As women in publishing across Africa, we are passionately creating children’s books, often in contexts where writers, illustrators, and publishers cannot rely solely on children's literature for their livelihood. However, we come from extraordinarily rich storytelling traditions that deserve broader and more diverse visual and narrative expression. In this conversation, we will share our experiences as publishers and ecosystem builders, reflecting on how we nurture readers at home while leveraging platforms such as the Bologna Children’s Book Fair to expand opportunities for African children’s stories, creators, and markets.

The session will also feature the announcement of the shortlist for the second edition of the Prix de l’édition jeunesse africaine, launched by eKitabu, which aims to boost the visibility and reach of French-language books by African publishers across the continent and beyond.