Special Reading Initiatives
The Slovak Republic has a long tradition of projects and contests aiming to form positive attitudes toward literature and develop the literary interests of students. These projects, organized at the national or regional level, have mainly been focused on recitation (e.g., the Hviezdoslavov Kubín competition) or creative writing (e.g., Why I Like the Slovak Language, Why I Like Slovakia).
Projects specifically targeting reading activities often are supported by nonprofit organizations. An example is the well-known Reading with Osmijanko contest, which was established by the nonprofit organization Osmijanko in 2004. Students ages 8 to 12 who participate in the contest are given literary riddles and creative tasks. To solve them, they must read several important works of Slovak and world literature over the course of six months.20
Libraries also play an important role in supporting reading activities. In cooperation with schools and the Slovak board of UNICEF, libraries organize an annual national reading marathon called Let’s Read, in which participating children assemble in their local library and each child reads aloud one page of a chosen book. In 2016, the ninth year of the project, 40,954 children participated.21 In addition to participating in national projects or adopting international reading initiatives (e.g., An Evening with Hans Christian Andersen), many libraries develop their own projects to promote reading literacy at the local level.