Hanoi (VNA) –Numerous efforts have been made to encourage reading habitamong young Vietnamese people, especially in the digital era when more entertainmentforms are available and reading enjoyment declines.

Beinga mother of a three-year-old daughter in Hanoi, Tran Thuy Hang spends most ofher free time reading books for her kid rather than let her play with a smartphone.Hang also takes her little girl to every book fair held in the capital city sothat she can play with books, choose favourite books and gradually develop herlove for reading.

“I let my daughter play with books when she was six months old. Now at her age of three, she has her own shelf full of books,” Hang said.


Accordingto Hang, domestic publishers are doing great to make more young people andchildren frequent readers. They offer books of various subjects and designs withgood contents.

“Booksfor children are so diversified and attractive, particularly 3D books. They arefull of pictures, colours and surprises,” Hang said.

Hang is among young Vietnamese people who have motivated their kids to read more books rather than let them play with computers or smartphones for fun. Their efforts have contributed to improving reading culture in the country after a shocking statistics released in 2013 showed that each Vietnamese person reads less than a book per year on average. 


Overrecent years, concerted efforts have been made nationwide to revive readingculture. Book fairs and festivals have been organised annually oninternational, national and local scales. As the result, reading enjoyment has increasedstrongly among people of all ages.

TrinhThe Duy, a student of Hanoi Foreign Language University has the habit to readbooks every night before bed. He finds reading very important for a languagestudent like him. Reading is sometimes a way of reducing stresses.

Domesticpublishers have been making a great contribution to making more childrenfrequent readers by offering more interesting and eye-catching paper books.

Technology also helps bring books closer to readers with more free e-books, reading machines and software. 

NguyenManh Hung, chairman of the Thai Ha Book Co., is very positive about reading culturein Vietnam. Hung said: “We have seen the greatest efforts made over the pastyears to make young people and children discover the power and joy of readingand the highest number of readers ever.”

Hungelaborated that more books had been published and sold and more talks aboutbooks had been held.

Accordingto Hung, reading is among the most sustainable ways to gain knowledge of thehistory and future technologies.

“Youwatch TV or read newspapers, you only get information. But if you want to getknowledge, you have to read books. There is no alteration,” Hung said.


Encouragingreading is among key priorities in many ASEAN countries, including Malaysiawhose capital city of Kuala Lumpur has been named as the World Book Capital byUNESCO, Tha Tun Oo, president of the Myanmar Publishing Association told apanel discussion about ASEAN reading culture as part of the ongoing Hanoi BookFestival.

InIndonesia, children are required to read at least 15 minutes before classes atschool. The Indonesian Government funds numerous national book fairs toencourage the public to read and gives discount vouchers to students so theycan buy books at cheaper prices, he said.

“Wecan see reading enjoyment is increasing very fast in Vietnam, particularly inHanoi,” said Tha Tun Oo, who is also the former Chairman of the ASEAN BookPublishers Association.

Heexpressed his hope that Hanoi, as the historical and cultural capital ofVietnam, will become the regional book capital in the future.-VNA