children explore the digital library at the Book Festival.2021. Photo dangcongsan.vn

HÀ NỘI  Many activities and programmes to promote reading culture have been organised nationwide for the framework of Book Festival 2021.

The highlight of the event is an exhibition with the theme "Books -- Mission to develop reading culture" at the National Library of on Tràng Thi Street, Hà Nội.

Speaking at the opening of the exhibition, Kiều Thúy Nga, director of the National Library of Việt Nam, said that the National Book Festival, which has been held annually at the library since 2006, has helped to arouse passion, excitement in reading, cultivate knowledge and contribute to the development of  the country.

"Via the activities of National Book Festival 2021, we want to convey the message that each book is a wonderful picture of life," Nga said.

"Books are not just pages but also contain the world that people always crave to explore. Picking up a book and reading, you will see a whole new world open up.”

The exhibition displays 800 books divided into four categories: Books -- Path to knowledge; Books -- Gifts nourishing the soul; Reading skills and methods; and Enjoying reading passion. It will last until Wednesday.

In addition, a seminar titled Youth with Reading Culture was organised within the exhibition with the participation of many experts and representatives of publishing units on April 16.

Like previous book festivals, a number of activities for children are being held along, such as drawing illustrations for books, parents’ reading books for children and exploring digital library of over 2,000 books in more than 20 different languages.

Meanwhile, Việt Nam Book Day 2021 kicked off in HCM City yesterday on the city’s book street in District 1.

A symposium on the development of a reading culture amid digital transformation was held on yesterday while the launch of book collections on the implementation of the resolution from the 13th National Party Congress, HCM City and digital transformation will take place on the street today at 3pm

Book lovers can also join a fan meeting with prolific and children’s favourite authors like writer Nguyễn Nhật Ánh or poet Thụy Anh, which will be held tomorrow.

To book lovers who cannot attend the festival in person could check in a national online book festival that will run until May 15 at book365.vn. The theme of this year's festival, which is the second of its kind, is "Books for All Families".

The national online book festival take place on the website book365.vn. Photo courtesy of the organisers.

Following the success of the first festival in 2020, the national online book festival 2021 will offer tens of thousands of books with 50-70 per cent discount and free shipping with the support of Vietnam Post.

The online book festival allows participants to discuss the development of a reading culture and gain an insight into digital transformation in the publishing industry, as well as how to access books in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Its organisers revealed that they will sponsor readers in remote and disadvantaged areas with a discount of up to 80 per cent to many good books.

Last year, the online book festival gathered 49 publishers and introduced about 10,000 print books and up to 10,000 e-books.

April 21 was designated as Việt Nam Book Day by the then Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc on February 24, 2014 with the aim to encourage a reading culture among the public. VNS