Bringing the outside world to the world’s children
COVID-19 is forcing many children to stay home. The #ReadtheWorld initiative aims to help them feel less isolated.
Almost 90 per cent of the world’s students are now affected by nationwide school closures due to the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) – that’s more than 1.5 billion children and young people. Combined with the physical distancing being practiced across the globe it’s not surprising that many young people are feeling more isolated, anxious and uncertain.
With so much of the outside world currently out of bounds, the #ReadtheWorld initiative will bring the creative and imaginative world of children’s stories into the lives of children across the world. As part of a collaboration between UNICEF, the International Publishers Association, and the World Health Organization, popular children’s authors will read extracts of their books to millions of children and young people currently living in isolation amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The initiative kicked off on 2 April, International Children’s Book Day, with a reading by Italian author Elisabetta Dami, creator of Geronimo Stilton.
Several other noted children’s authors have agreed to join the #ReadtheWorld initiative, details of which will be available soon.
