World Vision Romania launched the campaign "We Give Wings to Education," aimed at providing children in rural areas with access to age-appropriate and relevant books, in the context of a foundation study showing that only one in ten teenagers still reads daily.
According to a press release World Vision Romania issued on Wednesday, between Tuesday and 23 October, visitors to Carturesti bookshops in participating NEPI Rockcastle shopping centres can choose a book from a list specially prepared by World Vision Romania and hand it directly to the bookseller at the checkout. The book will remain in the shop, and World Vision Romania will ensure it reaches children in schools without libraries or with insufficiently equipped libraries.
Those who prefer to contribute online can purchase a book from the campaign's selection at: https://carturesti.ro/raft/dam-aripi-educatiei-1193282. In addition, for every four books donated, Carturesti will add one more children's book.
The list of selected titles is adapted to the needs of children and teenagers and is also available online on the campaign website: https://worldvision.ro/implica-te/campanii/dam-aripi-educatiei/.
According to the study "How Teenagers Read in 2025," carried out by World Vision Romania, although nine out of ten young people consider reading important for their personal development, nearly half admit they have not visited a library at all in the past three months.
The survey results show a 'sharp discrepancy' between the declared interest in reading and actual habits.
Although 91% of teenagers say that reading is important or very important for their personal development, almost half (49%) admit they read less than once a week. Only 8.2% read daily, and 28.5% read several times a week. Nearly 20% of respondents do not read at all.
Access to resources remains 'a major obstacle.' A quarter of teenagers have fewer than ten books at home, and over half (52.5%) have not been to a library in the last three months. Even though nine out of ten young people claim to have access to a school or public library, only 1.2% say they visit one more than once a week. In the absence of a functioning library, many get their books from online bookstores (50.9%) or physical ones (38.4%), as well as from friends or family (34.8%). However, only 18.5% can afford to frequently buy books with their own money, while 27% say they can only do so occasionally.
When they do manage to read, teenagers mostly choose adventure and action novels (60.7%), fantasy and science fiction (43%), or classics (42.4%). Some prefer personal development books (25.7%), comics and manga (20.9%), or biographies and history (11.6%). Poetry attracts 10.8% of respondents.
Launched by World Vision Romania and NEPI Rockcastle, the "We Give Wings to Education" campaign has now reached its fifth edition.
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