As a Deputy Ministry, we invest in creating open and welcoming libraries that promote good mental health and empower readers, so that they can in turn choose, express an opinion, have a voice, acquire critical thinking and to develop social action, said the Deputy Minister of Culture, Vasiliki Kassianidou, in her greeting, at the "Friendship Tours in Libraries" Conference, which is being organized today, Friday, at the University of Cyprus.
Speaking at the library of the University of Cyprus, Mrs. Kassianidou said that the Deputy Ministry is also investing in the role that libraries naturally have to play in the development of reading and research skills, noting that the training and empowerment of librarians is a priority.
Referring to the "Friendly Reading Tours in Libraries" Conference, Ms. Kassianidou said that the library "is not only a place to store and read books or conduct research. It is a welcoming space, where one can feel part of a wider community with similar interests and aspirations."
"Libraries with this profile and such communities we aim to create through the pilot program of the Vice-Ministry of Culture "Friendly Reading Routes in Libraries". A program that aims to highlight libraries as places of research, but also of creative expression, but also places that cultivate and support the love of reading", he added.
He also said that six municipal and community libraries are participating in the program this year, and in this context, lectures, presentations and workshops are being organized, as well as visits by schools or groups of children to the libraries, to attend structured interactive reading-friendly programs and actions with parents, adults and the elderly for encouragement. of reading.
Finally, the Deputy Minister expressed her thanks to the Cyprus Union of Librarians and Information Scientists, the Library of the University of Cyprus and the Library of the Cyprus University of Technology "for the perfect cooperation in the planning and implementation of this program".
Source: KYPE
