A-lehdet takes part in encouraging Finns to read – Read Hour held on Sunday 8 September

The campaign will culminate on International Literacy Day on 8 September when Finns are challenged to spend an hour reading. The campaign is a joint project between the Children and Youth Foundation of Finland and the media and communications sector, and it is officially protected by President Sauli Niinistö.

Reading has many positive effects on individuals and the entire society, but fading literacy skills lead to things like social exclusion. Read Hour aims to encourage Finns to read more and to act as role models, showing how important reading is.

The campaign was launched by the Children and Youth Foundation, and it brings together competing media and communications companies as well as various literacy projects. Read Hour is joined by literacy programme Lukuliike run by the Finnish National Agency for Education, the Finnish Reading Centre and ice hockey player Kevin Lankinen’s #Lankisenlukupiiri on Facebook, among others.

Other participants in the campaign’s planning and implementation include A-lehdet, Aikakausmedia, Aller Media, Alma Media, Bauer Media, Cocoa, Dentsu Aegis, Google Finland, IAB, Into-Digital, Isobar, Keskisuomalainen, Medialiitto, Mediateko, Meltwater, Monochrome, Otavamedia, Sanoma, the Finnish Newspapers Association, SEK, Yle, the Lukuliike programme of the Finnish National Agency for Education and the National Commission on Sustainable Development of the Prime Minister’s Office. The campaign also raises funds for the Children and Youth Foundation.

‘We wanted to offer a concrete contribution to improving literacy amongst young people. That is why we challenged the entire Finnish media and communications sector last year to join us. Read Hour was the result of our collaborative brainstorming,’ says the campaign’s project manager, Expert Hanna Koskenkangas from the Children and Youth Foundation.

‘If you stop to read for just an hour, it is enough to arouse your interest in the story and to read more,’ Koskenkangas continues.

The Read Hour campaign will be run from 26 August to 8 September. A young people’s flash mob event held on 26 August at Narinkkatori square in Kamppi, Helsinki, will kick off the campaign. Read Hour’s main event will be held at the city’s central library, Oodi.

A-lehdet is participating in the campaign pro bono by providing the campaign with media space in Apu and Demi and on various websites. Furthermore, the A-lehdet influencers have also been requested to join in.

More information about the campaign: www.readhour.fi