Release Date : 26 Jun 2010
Distinguished guests,
Partners,
Gamers,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Boys and girls,
1. A very good morning to all of you. It's good to see you here on a bright Saturday morning and thank you for joining us at the launch of Game2Read, part of our Read! Singapore initiative which is going on right now.
2. Game2Read, jointly organised by the National Library Board (NLB) and Singapore's Cybersports and Online Gaming Association (SCOGA), is one of the key highlights of this year's READ! Singapore campaign. Game2Read aims to engage more young people and the wider community to read and discuss with one another, and in the process, cultivate a passion for reading and lifelong learning. You may wonder, what has gaming got to do with reading? Some of you may be aware that behind every game, there is a story and that most games are inspired by books. Through Game2Read, we hope that gamers would be game enough to read books that are related to online games and gaming, and progress to books of other genres as well.
3. Most of our youth and the community-at-large are increasingly more IT savvy and spend much of their time on gaming, surfing the Internet for information and logging onto social media websites. What can Game2Read offer that will encourage gamers and youths to discover the joy in reading?
4. Let me highlight some of main features of Game2Read. Over the next two days, a series of gaming activities will be featured and we welcome non-gamers and members of the public to join us too.
5. First, a range of books related to gaming and sports will be showcased, such as, Seals of Light written by Thomas Lim who will share some details of the book with us later. He is also the creator of Tactics Anthem, a game which was inspired by his first book, Armour of Light. There will also be a cyberwellness exhibition to enable gamers and the public-at-large to take away learning tips on gaming addiction, cybersafety, netiquette and cyberbullying.
6. We also have something in store for fans of Quest, a year-long reading initiative to cultivate the love for reading in reluctant readers, particularly boys aged 7-12 years old, with the use of collectible cards. For those who have been following Quest, here's your chance to redeem your pack of cards. Simply borrow 4 books at any public libraries and redeem at the mobile borrowing station during the next two days.
7. At this juncture, I would like to thank our partners and supporters who have played an important role in making this event possible. They are Singapore's Cybersports & Online Gaming Association, Media Development Authority of Singapore, Starhub, Lenovo, Singapore Table Tennis Association, Singapore 2010 Odyssey, Monsters Under The Bed, Sony, DreamHack, Project GGGoal, Cyberathlete Professional League and Replay Interactive Pte Ltd. Through such collaborative efforts, we hope to further engage the IT community and the young people who are always online and to help them read more. We also want to help them develop a lifelong learning habit of inquiring a thirst for knowledge and ultimately, success.
8. I thank all of you for making the time to attend this morning's launch and hope that you enjoy the many activities held over the next two days with your family and friends.
9. Thank you and have a fulfilling day at our libraries!