A scene at the reading festival held at USM October 18-19.
PHILIPSBURG--More than 1,000 children, parents and teachers attended the Reading Festival held at University of St. Martin (USM) October 18-19.
The two-day event was put on by Stichting Biblionef Netherlands in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS), the St. Maarten Library, Help Our Children Foundation and USM. The organisers have described the event as a great success.
The festival featured a range of activities designed to ignite a passion for reading among youngsters. Highlights included storytelling sessions by local authors, interactive reading games, creative workshops, puppet shows and the donation of more than 2,600 books to participating children and schools.
“We are thrilled with the success of the Reading Festival and the enthusiastic participation from the community,” said Biblionef Netherlands director Bethzy Gianella Chiang. “It was heartwarming to see so many children excited about books and reading. We believe this event has planted the seeds for a lifelong love of reading.”
The festival’s first day focused on children six to eight years old, who had a morning filled with reading activities and interactive games, both at USM and in their schools.
The second day was open to the public, with activities running throughout the day. The festival also featured sessions for parents and teachers, emphasising the role they play in fostering a reading culture at home and in schools.
“To ensure the sustainability of the festival’s impact, Biblionef Netherlands has documented all activities in a handbook, which will be distributed to schools, libraries and other organisations. This resource will help educators and community leaders continue to promote reading and literacy in St. Maarten. The schools will also continue organising the same activities in collaboration with trainee teachers from USM, local authors and storytellers,” the organisers said in a press release on Thursday.
The organisers thanked all the sponsors: the Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten
(CBCS), Orco Bank, Windward Islands Bank (WIB), First Caribbean Bank, RBC Bank, Seven Seas Water, Standard Trust Escrow Foundation, NAGICO Insurances, Port St. Maarten, Richards Legal ABV, Katsiaryna Delight, Publix Supermarket, Island Gems Charity Foundation, Justice 4 All Consultancy, “The Daily Herald”, Prime Distributors, Divico, Domino’s Pizza, Office World, Endless Summer Wear, Het Cultuur Fonds Caribische Gebied, National Library of the Netherlands, Stichting de Zaaier, Intermar Freight Services Express St. Maarten and GLE Caribbean Line in the Netherlands, Cavalier Logistics, the St. Martin Rotary Club, the Mid-Isle Rotary Club, the Sunrise Rotary Club, the Sunset Rotary Club, the St. Maarten Lions and Leos Club, and Lemniscaat
