International "Reading for All" Panel Meets in Egy

[robert_allen]

Center for the Book Director John Y. Cole represented IFLA on Nov. 24-25, 1997, in Aswan, Egypt, at the first meeting of the UNESCO-sponsored International Panel on the Reading for All Program. Chaired by Suzanne Mubarak, first lady of Egypt, the panel was established "to advise on the preparation and implementation" of a new international program inspired by the successful Egyptian "Reading for All" project initiated by Mrs. Mubarak in 1991. The program promotes the reading habit among children, primarily through the strengthening of public libraries and distribution of inexpensive reading materials in underprivileged rural and urban communities. In March 1997, UNESCO Egyptian authorities agreed to allow UNESCO members to benefit from the Egyptian experience through UNESCO-coordinated national and regional initiatives.