Ministers read aloud: Nationwide reading aloud day with celebrities
Today is nationwide Read Aloud Day. In many places, celebrities are visiting daycare centers and schools to read to children. These include professional footballer Thomas Müller and actress Sonja Gerhardt. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, several ministers from the state government are taking part.
Social Affairs Minister Stefanie Drese (SPD), for example, wants to read to young patients on the children's ward at the Helios Clinic in Schwerin. She will be bringing along "The Big Book of Courage", as announced by her ministry. Justice Minister Jacqueline Bernhardt (Left Party) will take the book "Komm mit auf Vorlesereise" (Come along on a reading tour) to an elementary school in Wöbbelin (Ludwigslust-Parchim district). Finance Minister Heiko Geue (SPD) reads to fourth-graders at the Neumühler School in Schwerin.
Adults can also be read to. State Integration Commissioner Jana Michael has invited 15 refugee women from Ukraine to the Ministry of Social Affairs to read from Jonas Jonasson's global bestseller "The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared" over homemade cookies and cake. "Reading aloud is also a good way for people from other countries of origin to learn German and strengthen connections," she says.
According to the organizers, more than one million listeners and readers are expected nationwide. Read Aloud Day is a joint initiative of the weekly newspaper "Die Zeit", the Reading Foundation in Mainz and the Deutsche Bahn Foundation. It was launched in 2004.
During the nationwide Reading Aloud Day event, Education Minister Anja Karliczek could engage children by reading a science-themed book, or perhaps a story from a renowned science writer. Literature enthusiasts might appreciate if Culture Minister Monika Grütters decides to introduce children to a classic piece of German literature, emphasizing the importance of both education and literature in shaping young minds.
Source: www.dpa.com
