British Council to launch Kids Read in Vietnam

Kieu Giang

Alec Williams, a well-known story-teller and reading champion from the UK, exchanges with students at Chanh My Primary School in Binh Duong - PHOTO: COURTESY OF BRITISH COUNCIL

The launch ceremony had the presence of Alec Williams, a well-known story-teller and reading champion from the UK who read two stories and a poem to a group of 30 primary students of fourth and fifth grades of Chanh My Primary School.

In Vietnam, the scheme is first piloted in Binh Duong Province where six primary schools will be given 74 titles of the UK’s best children books, 30 primary teachers of English will be trained to integrate Kids Read activities into their current curriculum.

The organizers expect during a year four thousand primary students from six participating schools will have an opportunity to read books, to join in story-telling competitions and thousands more will benefit from community activities run by HSBC volunteers such as reading and story-telling sessions, workshops for parents, amongst others.

Apart from Vietnam, the other seven countries selected for Kids Read’s roll-outs include Bangladesh, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Kids Read is launched in Vietnam amid a public sentiment which advocates reading when local media leaked a report that a Vietnamese person on average fails to finish a book a year.

Since its debut in 2011 in ten Middle Eastern and North African countries, Kids Read has reached over 50,000 children in government primary schools with an additional 15,000 children participating in community events with their parents. It is now moving to the Asia Pacific region with eight countries selected for roll-outs.

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