Torredembarra now has its own Reading Plan, officially presented this morning during the 5th Educational Conference Mestra Maria Antònia. This plan outlines key work strategies to foster reading habits throughout life, with a special focus on children and youth. It serves as a strategic roadmap aimed at making reading a fundamental pillar of the town's educational, cultural, and community development.
The mayor of Torredembarra, Raúl García, highlighted that the Reading Plan will help organize and continue existing initiatives while also proposing new actions based on identified realities and needs. He emphasized the crucial role of reading in education, culture, and community life, and the importance of collaborative efforts to enhance access to books and reading spaces.
The project was developed based on a diagnosis of local reading habits and the work of the Consell Lector (Reading Council), comprising about twenty individuals from various fields, including education, the book industry, communication, and social initiatives.
The Councillor for Culture and Library, Daniel Pujol, stressed the collective nature of the process, stating, 'This Reading Plan is not the project of a single department or library; it is a municipal project.' He expressed gratitude for the contributions of the Library team, the members of the Reading Council, educational centers, professionals, entities, and families.
For the diagnosis, surveys on reading habits were conducted with the participation of students and families from educational centers, users of the Fundació Onada, and involved entities and stakeholders. With this initiative, Torredembarra joins the Municipality Reader network, promoted by IBBYcat for the past two decades. Marta Roig, technical secretary of IBBYcat, pointed out the collective challenge of addressing current difficulties faced by children and young people in deepening their reading comprehension and developing critical thinking skills.
Raquel Fernández, a member of the Torredembarra Reading Council, presented the Plan's priorities, which include strengthening reading work for the 0-3 years age group and in secondary education, enhancing teacher training, and addressing reading from the perspective of social and functional diversity.
The Plan is structured around six lines of action. 'Writing the Plan' encompasses the analysis and participation process. 'Teaching Teams' focuses on teacher training and the development of center-specific reading plans. 'Babies, Children, and Families' proposes actions for nursery schools, children aged 0-3, and fostering shared reading, including the 'Gaudim junts' (Let's Enjoy Together) cycle this October. 'Youth' aims to create more reading spaces and social interaction through reading clubs and board games. 'Inclusion and Diversity' integrates this perspective transversally to facilitate access to literature for individuals with diverse social, cultural, and functional realities, as highlighted by the Municipal Library Director, Ana Merino. Lastly, 'Municipal and School Libraries' plans to extend library hours, enhance their use as study and reading spaces, and improve coordination, with extended hours already implemented in September.
