More than 170,000 people celebrated the jubilee of the 14th National Reading Day and shared their pleasure in reading (and reading to others) on 17 November 2017 – setting an impressive public example in favour of reading. The number of participants increased considerably again – the previous record in 2016 had been 130,000 readers.
The largest reading festival in Germany – initiated by weekly newspaper DIE ZEIT, the Stiftung Lesen and the Deutsche Bahn Stiftung – now reaches people around Germany and beyond (as far away as in Mexico City, Sydney, Dubai and Jakarta).
Reading sessions were held in kindergartens, schools, homes for senior citizens, multigenerational houses, libraries and other cultural institutions, as well as at unusual locations like the Elbphilharmonie, in shopping malls, Starbucks stores, museums, for example German soccer-museum and in the fourth highest building in Germany, the tower 185 in Frankfurt on the Main.
Many celebrities and politicians also set examples in strengthening reading culture, including:
> Authors like Frank Schätzing, Kirsten Boie and Annette Langen
> Journalist Linda Zervakis
> Olympic champion Katharina Witt
> Actor Adnan Maral
> Comedians Bernhard Hoёcker and Cordula Stratmann
> TV presenters Palina Rojinski and Christoph Biemann
> YouTuber ItsColeslaw, Die Klugscheisserin and MrWissen2go
DIE ZEIT, Stiftung Lesen and Deutsche Bahn Stiftung are already preparing for the 15th National Reading Day which takes place on November 16, 2018.
This project is run by Stiftung Lesen (Germany).