FINNISH MODEL
Local publishers and vendors take a page from the Nordic country to promote reading among Thais.
The Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (Pubat) will continue to encourage Thais to read more and convince Thai educational institutes to take part in promoting a reading culture.
Pubat has invited the Finnish embassy in Thailand to showcase its successful reading model at the 45th National Book Fair & Bangkok International Book Fair 2017, which is running until April 9.
The exhibition was kicked off yesterday under the “Joy of Reading — Key to Lifelong Learning” theme.
Pubat president Charun Hormtienthong said the exhibition, one of the highlights of the 12-day book fair, features books, prints, designs and a section for children intended to expose visitors to the joy and importance of reading. The objective is to encourage Thais to read more, boosting life opportunities and helping improve the country’s educational system.
The opening of the exhibition yesterday was attended by many education experts and representatives from private educational institutes and tutorial schools.
“Initially, we expected to see representatives from government schools and educational institutes join the launch of the exhibition but they rarely show up. This suggests that the government does not pay much attention to promoting reading habits among Thais,” said Mr Charun.
He said Finland is ranked as the world’s most literate nation as the country has been cultivating literacy among students.
Under the “The Joy of Reading — Key to Lifelong Learning” theme, Finnish officials will share their stories on how they have succeeded in developing a strong tradition of literacy and promoted the importance of good reading skills for all types of learning.
The exhibition will also put a focus on technology in order to show the role a culture of reading plays in developing related skills.
Mr Charun said the government should take more concrete steps to encourage reading and improve the educational system.
The book fair also has another exhibition featuring the history of commemorative books for funerals in Thailand, a practice which originated during the time of King Rama V.
Thailand is the only country in the world that produces commemorative books honouring the memory of a deceased person at his or her funeral.
Mr Charun said the literary translation book category is the most popular this year, while other book genres are dropping in popularity.
This year, the 12-day book fair is expected to draw 1.7 million visitors, mostly students and families, and is expected to generate about 400 million baht in book sales.