The May of books is blooming. The inauguration streaming on corriere.it- Corriere.it

He could read. It was the most important discovery of his entire life. He could read. He had the antidote to the terrible poison of old age. Neither The old man who reads romance novels (1989), the Chilean Luis Seplveda, who died in 2020, also imagined the power of reading in this way. A power that enriches, liberates, fulfills and emancipates. And every year is dedicated to the power of books May of Books, the National Reading Promotion Campaign of the Center for Books and Reading (Cepel). The event will take place on Tuesday April 23rd (and lasts until May 31st) in its 14th edition dedicated to this topic If you read, you will free yourself (continuing with Libriamoci, the other historic Cepell campaign that involved thousands of schools across Italy last November).

An event that, every spring – since 2011 – invites us to spread the love of reading throughout Italy, in contexts different from the more traditional ones, and to try to reach an audience of non-readers through initiatives and events. And that starts to coincide with that UNESCO World Book and Copyright Day.

The inauguration of the Maggio will take place on Tuesday April 23rd at 11.30 a.m. at the Cepell headquarters in Rome (via Pasquale Stanislao Mancini) with honorary godmother Dacia Maraini Who will lead the dialogue in the meeting? The happy union: the Europe of freedomswith the professor and essayist Guido Vitiello (author of Happy readingthe Examiner).

The event, organized by Cepell in collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute of Strasbourg and the Corriere della Sera, and it will be possible to follow it via live streaming corriere.it
(as well as on the websites and social profiles of Cepell and the IIC of Strasbourg).

The May of Books begins in the name of Europe, because on the same day Strasbourg – the symbolic city and home of the European Union – also opens its Year of Books UNESCO World Book Capital.

I will also be present at the inauguration Adriano Monti Buzzetti, President of Cepell, who explained about the campaign that it had taken root in the region and in the hearts of the public, evidenced by a growing awareness of the need to promote reading and an equally lively creativity on the part of many different interlocutors in the civil society, thus expanding the scope and content of a cultural offering that sees new or rediscovered familiarity with books as a vehicle for social progress and personal development. We will also be there to honor you the director Luciano Lanna: Today – he emphasized – we are facing the challenges of another revolution, with global digitalization and increasingly diversified and transversal reading methods in format and distribution: What has remained constant over the centuries, however, and what we must continue to watch out for, is the centrality of the medium ” Book,” with the knowledge it can impart and the skills of citizenship and freedom it hones.

After the inauguration, initiatives will be launched by citizens, teachers, booksellers, publishers, book bloggers, mayors, students and all book lovers who take part in the campaign (registration possible at: ilmaggiodeilibri.cepell.it). There are three strands in which it decreases: Free to knowabout the world of information, non-fiction and historical fiction; Free to dream, about fiction, especially fantasy, and biographies; And Free to createabout poetry.

The initiatives registered in the database are also contributing to this this year 13th edition of the May of Books Award, awarded to the five best reading promotion projects carried out in the same categories: libraries, cultural associations, schools, prisons, health and elderly care facilities, bookstores. The winners will be announced during Pi libri pi liberi in Rome (December 4-8).

In addition, there will also be special events in May, such as Cepell’s participation in the Turin International Book Fair; the activities of the Treccani Cultura Foundation or those of the Feltrinelli and Libraccio bookstores. This creates an idea that flies onto the pages of books and spreads the liberating power of reading once again.