“Macao Library Week 2023” fosters a city of reading

“Macao Library Week 2023” fosters a city of reading

The “Macao Library Week 2023”, jointly organised by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), the University of Macau Library and the Macao Library and Information Management Association, will promote a series of reading activities from 15 April to 14 May. The opening ceremony was held on the World Book Day, 23 April (Sunday), at the Macao Cultural Centre. At the ceremony, the Acting President of the IC, Cheang Kai Meng and the Deputy Director of the DSEDJ, Wong Ka Ki, presented the self-check machines to schools, followed by the activities “4.23 Reading in the City” and the “Half-Hour Reading Session”, coordinated with cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan and Hong Kong. In Macao, reading leaders including the President of IC, Leong Wai Man, registered social worker, Chan Wai Leong, secondary school teacher, Lee Tak Wah, and higher education student, Tong Pui Lam, shared their reading experiences and recommended books through video, in order to promote the concept “Making reading part of daily life” to the public via the Internet. Reading activities were held in a number of venues and reading points, creating an ambience of reading across the city.

The opening ceremony was officiated by the Deputy Director of the Department of Publicity and Culture, Yin Rutao, representing the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR; the Acting President of the IC, Cheang Kai Meng; the Deputy Director of the DSEDJ, Wong Ka Ki; the University Librarian of the University of Macau, Wu Jianzhong; and the President of the Macao Library and Information Management Association, Wong Kwok Keung. In addition, the guest speakers of the “Conversation about Reading – Sharing Session”, Janis Chan Pui Yee, Leong Ka Hang and Ao Chon Hin, the Vice President of the IC, Cheong Lai San, and representatives of a number of cooperating entities and Macao libraries also attended the ceremony.

The “World Book Day” was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 23 April 1995, and various events will take place around the world. In support of the SAR Government’s policy to promote the development of a “City of Reading”, this edition of the “Macao Library Week” is held on a larger scale, featuring over 60 diversified reading activities from 15 April to 14 May. The activity “4.23 Reading in the City” also featured the “Conversation about Reading – Sharing Session”, in which Janis Chan Pui Yee, a well-known host and actress from Hong Kong, Leong Ka Hang, a famed local football player, and Ao Chon Hin, a local designer who won several international design awards in recent years and was awarded the Medal of Merit – Culture by the SAR Government, were invited to share their experiences, allowing the participants to experience the close ties between reading and different fields and disciplinaries, and to broaden their reading perspectives. Students from Hou Kong Middle School even led the participants to recite and read together, bringing a different reading experience to the audience. Meanwhile, the activity “4.23 Reading in the City” continues to adopt the “1+N” mode (1 main venue + N sub-venues). In addition to the main venue, the Macao Cultural Centre, the organisers promoted “reading points” throughout the city, which received responses from over 130 entities, resulting in the participation of nearly 40,000 people. Moreover, through the linkage with a number of cities in the Greater Bay Area including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Dongguan and Hong Kong, readers were linked to a reading platform to enjoy the joy of reading together.

A number of family activities on the “Macao Library Week 2023” promotional days were held on 22 and 23 April (Saturday and Sunday), at the Macao Cultural Centre, offering a rich interactive reading experience. Activities included game booths such as “Treasure Hunt in the Library”, “Assembling the Library”, and “Puzzle Board Game”; workshops on “Light clay bookmarks” and shrink plastic keychains; family reading activities “Story World” that combine storytelling, singing, and interactive games; “Reading on the Go” that combines literature with music, body movements and storytelling. Besides, nearly 190 students from local primary and secondary schools, as well as the Macao Conservatory, were invited to present around 25 extraordinary cultural and artistic performances, including music, drama, dance, recitation, martial arts and rope skipping, allowing the audience to experience the happiness of reading in a unique way.

Furthermore, “The Latest & Best German Children’s Book Fair” is held at the Macao Cultural Centre, exhibiting over 50 children and youth books from 18 German publishers, presenting readers a variety of children’s literature in Germany. The “Book Fair” features a number of books themed on writing and creativity, fables between humans and animals, a number of fiction books by local writers, and books introducing Macanese gastronomy, an item of the Intangible Cultural Heritage, together with many new books published by the IC, including those related to the belief and customs of Tou Tei and religious figure carving.

During the promotional days, the IC and Associação de Publicações de Macau jointly organise the “Cultural Salon”, in which four Macao writers Tan Jian Qiao, Li I, Lawrence Lei and Lin Ge, are invited to share their experience on creation, publishing and reading in the reading area of the salon, in order to deepen the public’s understanding of Macao literature. “The Story Begins — Creative Writing Workshop” and “Journey to the West — Thematic Lecture” conducted by Zhang Yiwei, a young writer from Mainland China, are held at the House of Macao Literature and the Macao Museum of Art, respectively, exploring the mystery of classical Chinese literature and the joy of creative writing.

In addition, the initiative also features the well-received activities such as “Book Exchange”, “Periodicals Sale”, giveaways of early IC publications, as well as various distinctive booths including the introduction of electronic library card of the University of Macau and other services. For more information about the event, please visit the “Macao Library Week” website (www.library.gov.mo/zh-hant/topic/week2023) or contact the public library counter through tel. no. 2856 7576 or 2893 0077 during office hours.