“Yntaniq Center”: “Reading as a Source of Development”

“Reading is one of the sources of thinking and intellectual development.”
— V. A. Sukhomlinsky

From June to September, the “Yntaniq” Children and Youth Creative Center under the Ministry of Education and Science implemented the “Reading as a Source of Development” festival.

The program aimed to develop a culture of reading among students, strengthen their love of books, encourage teenagers to visit libraries and use reading rooms, promote and strengthen connections between students and libraries, and enrich the Center’s library with new books.

The program began in June with a book-collection campaign and a creative competition entitled “The Book and Me,” which featured a variety of decorative and applied art works. The competition results were evaluated and finalized by a professional jury on September 20.

As part of the festival, seminars entitled “Reading as a Source of Development” were held from September 4 to 9 in the rural communities of Ashotsk, Gokhovit, Yerazgavors, Torosgyugh, and Tsoghamarg in Shirak Province, as well as at the “Yntaniq” Center. The participants also discussed the topics “When and How Was the Book Created?” and “The Role of Reading in Life.” Following lively and engaging discussions, the students read Khachatur Abovyan’s story “The Egg Thief,” analyzing and interpreting its moral and educational message and content.

As part of the program, on September 19, teenagers from the “Yntaniq” Center’s groups operating in the rural communities of Shirak Province and Gyumri visited the Shirak Regional Library and the Mkrtich Armen Central Library. They became acquainted with the libraries’ extensive collections, learned the rules for using library services, and gained interesting and educational information about the collection and preservation of books. The students left impressed and thoughtful, expressing their willingness to return.

On September 26, a mass open-air reading festival was held in the courtyard of St. Hakob of Mtsbin Church in the Ani district. Representatives of the Shirak branch of the Writers’ Union, librarians, educators, local residents, parents, students, and passers-by attended the event. The participants viewed an exhibition of works submitted to the creative competition and joined the teenagers in the open-air reading activity.

Various stands featured Armenian, English, and French literature, including books from different genres, as well as children’s and spiritual literature.

Representatives of the older and younger generations sat side by side, reading and interpreting the same fairy tale in their own ways: the child through a pure and sincere heart and vivid imagination, and the elderly person through the experience and wisdom gained throughout life.

The positive reactions and praise of passers-by further encouraged the readers. “This is a very commendable initiative. It is wonderful to see people of different ages reading. I was passing by and the book stands caught my attention. I even found one of my favorite works,” said passer-by Anna Ghazaryan, sharing her impressions.

As part of the festival, a “Speed Reading” competition was also held. The participants enthusiastically and actively competed to read the fastest, most fluently, and win the competition.

The winner, Anahit Vardanyan, a student of Gyumri Secondary School No. 11, was awarded a prize.

Participants who submitted works to the creative competition were also awarded. The festival concluded with artistic performances by the students of the Center.

Z. Hovhannisyan