justification
Introduction
The Universal Reading Foundation works on the basis of research. Creating evidence-based programmes and projects and evaluating them is one of our statutory principles. This way we reach people who are non-readers and therefore they are excluded. We focus on the accessibility of books, as well as encouraging reading activities itself and building the habit of daily reading; we demonstrate the wide-ranging benefits of participating in the book culture and the powerful impact of reading on children's health and the future of next generations.
Evidence
Problem
There are currently only 5% of adults in Poland who read at least 7 books a year,, so you can realistically say that they are regular readers. There really is no ubiquitous cult of reading in Poland. On the contrary, the topic is a side issue, a boring one for most of the population, for a handful of people from culture and education; what's more - a topic that is better not to bring up for fear of being accused of elitism.
Not reading is the cause of social problems
There are dozens of studies from various centers (Oxford, Harvard, OECD, etc., I won't go on) and fields (psychology, pediatrics, sociology, neuroscience, psychiatry) that have collectively proven more or less this much: reading books from an early age builds our psycho-physical health and life success at an individual level, which translates, at a societal level, into scientific and economic success and the social capital of the community. To expand on this a bit, the proven effects of reading include: more synapses in the brain, empathy, social skills, teamwork skills, cognitive skills, critical analysis skills, innovation, self-confidence and entrepreneurship, greater civic engagement, statistically more frequent participation in elections, and even, indirectly - a longer life (reading translates into longer education, and this correlates with longer life).
Reading makes us equal – it equalizes our chances
The OECD PISA study (Reading for change, 2011) shows that if a student likes to read (reads for pleasure, reaches for books), this has a greater impact on their educational success than their socioeconomic background. PISA has therefore proven that we have a way to eliminate social inequalities at our fingertips, that reading books has this absolutely extraordinary "superpower". Reading really makes us equal - it equalizes our chances.
Reading is the development of civic competences
Just as we invest as a society in preventing cancer in our fellow citizens, we should invest in developing their civic competences: because it is not indifferent to a person's personal development whether they read or not." - Maria Deskur, president of the Universal Reading Foundation.
Reading is the basis of education
The subconsciously accepted assumption that casts a shadow over the interest in popularizing reading is the linking of reading with the humanities. Nothing could be further from the truth. Reading is a tool for acquiring knowledge (any kind!), reading teaches our brains to think logically, evaluate and understand cause-and-effect relationships, reading creates powerful innovators through the accumulation of knowledge and associations. The positive impact of reading on results in mathematics has been proven. Promoting these truths is important because it can contribute to a deeper understanding of a very important social interest, which is universal reading skills.
Reading Other People
Reading is an intellectual effort, an exercise that develops the brain: first we learn to understand meanings (as someone reads to us), connect them with images, then decode the language, process black (usually) letters into meanings, create images in our heads, add what is unsaid. At the same time, reading is an emotional training with proven effectiveness, many studies for almost 15 years have indicated the power of fiction in building empathy. Reading is opening up to someone's message, someone's emotions, someone's point of view. When we pick up a book, we accept that the sender is someone else, and we learn to listen, understand, and empathize.