Reading advocates aims to resolve reading crisis in the country during landmark first conference

 

The National Alliance of Reading Advocates (NARA), a group composed of reading advocates in the country and a campaign project by the National Book Development Board (NBDB)’s Readership Development Division (READ), believes that it is on the right track to avert the country’s reading crisis.

 

For the first time, the NARA and its reading allies from more than 100 organizations gathered in a meaningful conference convened by the NBDB at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Manila. It brought together reading advocates from various organizations, schools, universities, national government agencies, local government units, and advocacy arms of corporations, hoping to bring awareness to the importance and urgency of reading, and highlighting its impact on nation-building.

 

During the event, NARA presented its mission that is aligned with that of the NBDB being the leading catalyst for building a reading culture in the Philippines, and being a strong pillar for the nation’s reading campaigns in the future.

 

Also presented during the conference with the theme “Pamitinan ng Lingkod-Mambabasa,” was the NARA Agenda 2025-2030. This agenda seeks to empower reading advocates to effect social and behavioral change in Philippine readership through campaign infrastructure, capacity building, and network building. It will also serve as a guidebook that contains NARA’s concrete vision for readership in the country based on its analysis of the state of the reading nation.

 

Upon full ratification, this agenda will then support activities and interventions in line with its contents, and shall form the basis of the NBDB’s readership interventions, both as an individual reading advocate agency and as the alliance’s secretariat, for the next five years.

Other highlights of the conference include the presentation of the State of the Reading Nation, an informal sharing of best practices from select organizations called “Brown Bag sessions,” the announcement of Readership Development Grants, the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the NBDB, represented by Executive Director Charisse Aquino-Tugade, and Arvin Manuel Villalon, Director for Mindanao of the National Museum of the Philippines (NMP) for the NMP Book Nook sites, and finally the oathtaking of NARA members, led by Carlo Ebeo, the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA) Commissioner for the Subcommission on Cultural Dissemination.

 

Reading advocates take centerstage

 

What made the event truly interesting was the presence of its two keynote speakers.

 

The first was para-librarian and “book missionary” Hernando “Mang Nanie” Guanlao, who was also the guest of honor. Guanlao made headlines when his “Reading Club 2000,” which he founded out of his home in Barangay La Paz, Makati City, garnered significant media attention.

 

The place was a hub of his personal textbooks and collected volumes. The collection grew over the years, mainly through book donations coming from his throng of supporters and partner-organizations. As an offshoot of his efforts and love of books, a network of book collectors then collaborated in order to bring donated books to more shelves around the country, particularly in remote or underserved areas, those where books are largely inaccessible.

 

The second keynote speaker, Rica Acebuche, a young reading advocate from Samar, believes that reading is an important tool to gain important life skills. Rica was considered the reading enthusiast among her siblings, having learned to love reading by doodling on books and reading stories aloud.

 

It was her involvement as a volunteer with the Reading Club 2000 that opened her eyes and gave her the idea for “Reader’s of Barrio,” a free book-giving and literacy education program that serves reading communities in remote areas such as in the municipality of Laoang, Northern Samar. With Mang Nanie, they were able to send hundreds of books—all packed in sacks and boxes, hauled onto trucks, then loaded into planes and boats—and finally reached the growing community of readers in Laoang.

 

The NARA is a unified network anchored on a collaborative working environment in order to better spread the news on existing readership initiatives. This is a project by the NBDB that serves as an integral part of the agency’s ongoing efforts to boost readership, given declining reading scores among Filipinos.

 

“This conference announces to the world what we want to achieve, which is to strengthen the reading culture and build a nation of readers. This event signifies the beginning of a major collective step in addressing reading gaps. We still have a long way to go, but with our growing alliance, I know that a stronger reading culture is underway,” says Daniel Lorenzo Mariano, OIC Division Chief of READ.

 

Membership to the NARA is open to reading advocates who are committed to help improve Philippine readership. For more information and details on how to register, visit bit.ly/joinnara or contact the NBDB Reading Campaigns Section at campaigns@books.gov.ph.