A great success for #ioleggoperché, the national initiative aimed at promoting reading and supporting school libraries, organized by the Italian Publishers Association. For the first time, over 50% of Italian schools are participating in the project. The data is constantly growing: in the ninth edition, which will take place from November 9 to 17, more than 4.2 million students are involved (compared to 3.9 million in 2023), 28,285 schools (25,394 in 2023), 350 nurseries (20 more than the previous edition) and 3,939 bookstores (3,609 in 2022).

This year, particular attention was paid to the southern regions, with an 11% increase in registrations and almost 1,000 new registrations, especially from Campania, Calabria, Molise and Sardinia. The presentation of the ninth edition took place on October 29 in Rome, at the Ministry of Culture, with the participation of the president of Aie Innocenzo Cipolletta and the presidents of the Culture Commissions of the Chamber and Senate, Federico Mollicone and Roberto Marti. At the opening of the event, a message was read from the Minister of Education and Merit Giuseppe Valditara, who was absent for reasons related to the G20. The presentation was also broadcast live streaming on various platforms.

“Reading together and discussing books nourishes a flame that can grow more and more,” Valditara emphasized in his message. Reading must be a passion shared by young people. This edition’s communication campaign is titled “The future begins with a book.” Confirmed ambassadors include Rudy Zerbi and Sofia Goggia, joined this year by two new supporters: Benedetta Parodi and Fabio Caressa.

In addition, the presidents of the Culture commissions Mollicone and Marti will play the role of institutional ambassadors. There are more than a thousand Messengers of #ioleggoperché active throughout Italy who will support booksellers in promoting donations to schools. During the meeting, Cipolletta launched an appeal to the Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli to draw attention to the difficult situation of the book: “The book is suffering, receive us”.