The second annual 'Week of the Ehon Book' has been taking place in Hà Nội this week to popularise Japanese ehon books among Vietnamese readers and promote reading for children starting at an early age. The event is being held until October 27 at the Japanese Embassy, and is organised by the Bắc Cầu Fund. 

The Bắc Cầu Fund was set up in 2019 to help young Vietnamese children develop thinking and creative skills through book projects. It was honoured by Hà Nội's Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism in 2020 for promoting reading culture. 

Việt Nam News reporter Nguyễn Bình chats with Lê Thị Thu Hiền, founder of the Bắc Cầu Fund. 

This is the second year that the 'Week of the Ehon Book' is being held. What is the highlight of the second week?

The fund aims to spread reading habits to Vietnamese children. During the 'Week of the Ehon Book', we focus on organising story reading sessions for children. Not only that, parents also gain references to help them select books for their children. There are many picture books displayed at the event.

The week also serves as a bridge to connect Việt Nam with Japanese culture, bringing Japanese ehon books to Vietnamese children. 

After the success of the first ehon book week in 2023, many kindergartens expressed interest in taking children to the event. This compelled us to run this year's event for a longer time, with workshops helping children to develop their creativity under the theme 'Animals'.

What do you expect for the 'Week of the Ehon Book' in Việt Nam?

One of the most important goals is to spread the habit of reading to as many children as possible through ehon books. I want children to have a chance to access interesting books and to listen to storytelling. The parents also get to know more about suitable books to buy and read for their children. 

Plus, the week also connect publishers and relevant bodies to demonstrate social responsibility through book displays and book giving events.

Could you tell us about the fund's performance after it was established five years ago?

Aside from the 'Week of the Ehon Book', we have other projects. Project 'Kids Love Reading' has been carried out in the two northern provinces of Ninh Bình and Hòa Bình as well as the central province of Hà Tĩnh. 

In Hòa Bình Province, book reading sessions were held in six kindergartens. Leaders from the provincial Department of Education and Training supported all kindergarten teachers in attending training courses. After the in-person course, they also participated in an online course six months later. 

Project 'Funny Rainbow', which involves reading books to paediatrics patients, has been carried out in paediatrics departments in Hà Nội, Lào Cai, Hòa Bình and Phú Thọ.

A story writing contest has been held annually for both children and adults. The best stories are published in a book. Last year, more than 3,000 stories were sent to the organisation board, and the winner was secondary student Đào Khương Duy. We decided to develop his story into a picture book entitled Chuyến Bay Hạnh Phúc (Happy Flight) and published it. 

More than 3,000 stories have also been submitted for the contest this year. The awards ceremony will be held next month. 

What is an advantage and disadvantage in carrying out the projects?

Our projects are long term, so their impacts are not seen and appraised immediately. They have therefore not received much attention from the community. I know some people say that we should donate to build schools and eliminate hunger first, and read books later. 

But adults need to spread the habit of reading books to children, especially preschool children, although some parents think that their toddlers cannot understand stories. 

We are able to carry out the projects thanks to funding from businesses and individuals. The sponsors can see how many books we donate, but they don't know much about the significance of developing reading habits at a young age. It is very difficult to convince sponsors. 

We aim to spread awareness so that everyone knows the benefits of reading, and so that our society cares about reading books to children from a young age. Building a reading generation requires a lot of time, effort, persistence and consensus. Therefore, reading books to children from an early age is necessary. This is our goal.  VNS