Release Date : 15 Jun 2012
Dr Yaacob Ibrahim, Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts
Ms Yeoh Chee Yan, Chairman, National Library Board
Ladies and Gentlemen
1 Good morning. In NLB, we are really proud of our children from the kidsREAD programme. We are really engaged by their performance today. Thank you. Thank you Minister, friends of the reading clubs and guests for joining us in launching READ! Singapore 2012.
2 Since 2005, READ! Singapore has grown from strength to strength. Over the years, more than 215,000 participants have been touched by the programme. It has also become more inclusive by drawing in volunteer welfare groups, grassroots organisations and the community. And I believe we have done our best to help to build more interest in reading for leisure and knowledge.
3 This year, the READ! Singapore steering committee has chosen "Bridges as the theme for this year's programme. And we have selected 8 international and local novels, 12 short stories and 4 poems connecting people of different cultures. We believe these works will provide “food” for thought, ignite discussions and evoke reflections among readers. The selected short stories and poems have been published as special anthologies in the four official languages.
4 There is enthusiastic interest in our mobile platform, MobileRead. More than 63,000 READ! Singapore eBooks have been downloaded by iPhone users since the service was launched last year. I am happy to say that from now on, users of Android devices can also access these stories. To do this, we have collaborated with Nanyang Polytechnic students and lecturers to develop a MobileRead application for Android users. Selected works since the inception of READ! Singapore in 2005 are available for both Android and iPhone users.
5 Finally, I would like to thank the READ! Singapore Steering Committee members for their dedication to promote a reading culture, and their consideration and hard work put into choosing the books every year. I would also like to thank our sponsor, F&N Magnolia for helping us print the booklets and tote bags, and all our partners for making READ! Singapore successful year after year. Once again, thank you Minister for taking the time from your busy schedule to join us this morning.