The Launch of the 08 Clubs
Thursday, 25 September, saw the launch of the new initiative of the National Year of Reading in Wales, the 08 Clubs. The event, which took place at the Gôl Football Centre in Cardiff, featured two of the clubs authors and a soccer star.
The 08 Clubs, which are coordinated by the Welsh Books Council, are designed to attract children and young people – and especially teenage boys – to books and therefore to encourage reading. Reading will be made more fun by using well-known people, in particular stars from the world of sport, as reading role models. The clubs will meet at a range of interesting, informal and stimulating locations with the possibility of these sporting celebrities or authors attending the meetings to inspire the youngsters to read more.
There are nearly 50 clubs throughout Wales, with each club consisting of 10 members. The clubs will meet at least six times during the campaign, and the age of the members ranges from school years 5 to 8.
Attending the launch in Cardiff were young people from Fitzalan High School, Ysgol Plasmawr and Ysgol Glantaf, the children’s authors Paul Manship and Ion Thomas and – the icing on the cake – the Bluebirds’ football star Peter Enckelman from Cardiff City Football Club.
Delyth Humphreys, National Year of Reading Coordinator at the Welsh Books Council, commented, "This is a wonderful initiative to captivate the minds of young people and show them the joys and importance of reading. Reading is a fundamental skill which is essential in everyday life."
"We hope the young people in the groups will be inspired to read more and will enjoy their time at the clubs. It is a fantastic way of reaching out and including them in the National Year of Reading."
The Welsh Books Council will be supplying each group with free books. The clubs will receive different packages of books to cover all age groups from primary to secondary and in both Welsh and English. Information packs and background materials will be provided to each club leader with excellent ideas and examples of the type of activities they can carry out in the reading clubs. Every member who attends all of the 6 meetings will have the opportunity to compete for some fantastic prizes.
The Welsh Books Council are providing a dedicated website where club members are able to create on-line profiles of their clubs, write regular blogs and upload videos of their activities. Anyone can visit the website (www.yearofreadingwales.org.uk/08) to find out what club members are up to, which books they are reading and which celebrities are supporting the campaign.
The National Year of Reading in Wales brings together people from all across Wales to share the joy of reading. A wide range of activities has already taken place as part of the Year, ranging from locally arranged reading groups through to the Give a Book Week and Reading Communities initiatives.
