The single most important investment any country can make is in its people and therefore as part of a national effort to embrace the value of reading and the important role it plays in a nation’s development , the Department of Sport , Arts and Culture will be ensuring that we actively participate in World Read Aloud Day .

The World Read Aloud Day is celebrated annually on the first Wednesday of February. One of the main aims and objectives of this day is to advocate for access to literacy and diverse stories, as well as the power of reading out Aloud. World Read Aloud Day is an activity filled day that has an immensely powerful impact on children’s development in reading and writing.

Therefore as part of the common national effort, the Provincial Department of Sport, Arts and Culture will be embarking on programs throughout the province to create access to a rich and productive life for our youth and all our people.

The Department will therefore continue to embrace and implement the idea of inculcating a culture of reading and library usage by reaching out to the broader community and specifically to the youth in terms of promoting libraries as an agent for change and development. By doing this we are deepening our democracy and helping to develop a people’s culture.

Books in our schools and homes have a strong effect on the children’s attainment and has the power of improving imagination, increasing intelligence, boosting their brainpower, building vocabulary, increasing productivity, improving cultural diversity and social cohesion and also to economic empowerment and emancipation.

This year books will be donated by the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture to identified Libraries Schools and Early Childhood Development Centres across the length and breadth of the Province.

The World Read Aloud Day will be celebrated in all community libraries across the Province in conjunction with library stakeholders , however district marquee programmes will also be held and they will be focussing of children reading sessions , Impromptu reading , Story telling and Poetry sessions

1. Hantam Educare  – `            Calvinia              10h00
2. Ritchie Library                       Ritchie                10h00
3. H O Kgadiete Library            Warrenton        13h00
4. Bankara Primary School      Bankarra           10h00
5. Cillie Pre Primary                  Cillie                    10h00
6. Noupoort Library                  Noupoort          10h00
7. Dagbreek Library                                              10h00

Source: Government of South Africa