About the READ-IN-CLUB Project

The project READ-IN-CLUB—READ-INg for CuLtUres across Borders—includes 6 partners (CulturePolis, Hellenic Foundation for Culture, iTStudy, Slovenia Writers’ Association, Sršen Ivan—Sandorf Publishing, and iED) from 5 different countries (Greece, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Cyprus) and derives from the need to equip our society with those skills and competences which are essential to ensuring a swift and smooth recovery from the crisis.

In READ-IN-CLUB, the art of literature and the institution of book clubs and reading communities, together with the power of digital technology, comprise powerful facilitators of informal learning and dialogue, and create a supportive cultural environment where people are encouraged to become innovators and effective lifelong learners.

In this context, READ-IN-CLUB targets professionals of the book industry who organize and coordinate the operation of reading clubs or other educational activities related to literature: writers, authors, translators, directors, and representatives of private and public libraries, moderators of reading clubs/book clubs, managers of publishing houses and literary organizations, publishers, editors.

Objectives

Objectives of READ-IN-CLUB are to: 

  1. Develop a cross-sectoral approach for cooperation—established in the EU values which are generated and conveyed by the art of literature.
  2. Address the challenge of ingraining the educational aspect of reading clubs for social inclusion and intercultural dialogue in the “digital, post-COVID agenda” of the book industry stakeholders.
  3. Qualify reading clubs coordinators through enhancing their training skills and digital competencies and rendering them “Lit.Mentors” of intercultural dialogue.
  4. Develop and deliver a digital reading club platform, innovative training materials and content methodologies for successfully meeting the needs of reading clubs coordinators and their communities and empower them at all levels.

What Is It Grounded On?

READ-IN-CLUB project is grounded on the following:

Literature and the EU Values

Literature is an important means of world-making, of reflecting, reinforcing but also constructing the norms and values citizens live by (Baumbach, 2009).

The importance of literature in addressing and conveying the very fundamental European values such as democracy, human rights, freedom, respect, equality, inclusion and tolerance has been formulated and established in EU through several initiatives.

A representative example is the EU Prize for Literature (EUPL) aiming to protect and promote the EU’s rich cultural and linguistic diversity, to foster common European values, and to boost the competitiveness of our cultural and creative sectors.

In a similar sense, the Literature Across Frontiers (LAF), a European Platform for Literary Exchange, Translation and Policy Debate aims to develop intercultural dialogue through literature. Indeed, “European literature is a fundamental part of our cultural identities and, through translation, it contributes to creating a shared cultural space” as stated by Mr. Valer-Daniel Breaz, Romanian Minister for Culture and National Identity, during the celebration of the 2019 EUPL (source).

Reading Clubs as Lifelong Learning Environments

The art of literature and the institution of book clubs and reading communities belong to the Creative and Cultural Sector (CCS), and comprise powerful facilitators of informal learning and dialogue, assuring freedom of expression, creativity and innovation, promoting integration and breaking down social and cultural barriers.

According to UNESCO’s research (2019) supportive cultural environments, such as book clubs, are more likely to encourage people, to make use of opportunities in order to use and further develop their skills, and to become independent and effective lifelong learners.

The educationally critical and socially essential role of reading groups has been always evident in academic studies such as in Sedo’s ethnographic research (2002): “in a book club environment, readers are able to satisfy their need to increase their knowledge, nurture their love of books, and share bonds of community”. 

The Social Impact of the Pandemic in CCS

The CCS, along with the book industry, belongs to those segments of society which are mostly effected by COVID-19 crisis: it is evident that in April 2020 libraries were closed practically in ALL European countries (UNESCO, 2020).

The social impact of this crisis is enormous: human interaction is wounded and EU citizens experience the "new normality" of staying at home and living under lockdown, putting the EU values of arts and culture for social cohesion, inclusion, intercultural dialogue, community engagement, understanding of the “other” and tolerance into a great challenge. 

In the light of the above, and falling within the framework of the Erasmus+ programme response of the COVID-19 situation, the READ-IN-CLUB project aims to: 

  • Develop a cross-sectoral approach for cooperation—established in the EU values which are generated and conveyed by the art of literature. 
  • Address the challenge of ingraining the educational aspect of reading clubs for social inclusion and intercultural dialogue in the “digital, post-COVID agenda” of the book industry stakeholders. 
  • Qualify reading clubs coordinators through enhancing their training skills and digital competencies and rendering them “Lit. Mentors” of intercultural dialogue. 
  • Develop and deliver a digital reading club platform, innovative training materials and content methodologies for successfully meeting the needs of reading club coordinators and their communities and empower them at all levels. 

Target Groups

To meet these objectives, the target groups directly addressed by the project are professionals of the book industry who organize and coordinate the operation of reading clubs or other educational activities related to literature:

  • writers, authors, translators,
  • directors and representatives of private and public libraries,
  • moderators of reading clubs/book clubs,
  • managers of publishing houses and literary organizations, publishers, editors. 

Finally, the project should be carried out transnationally in order to support the pan-European effort for recovery and the post-crisis development of CCS by generating creative and innovative solutions as result of the fruitful and powerful collaboration between different organizations in EU.

Moreover, the transnational approach promoted by READ-IN-CLUB is of paramount importance on account of its very core-notion: the intercultural dialogue among different cultures and national identities in the united context of the European Union.

In this spirit, READ-IN-CLUB transnational component is aligned to the recently launched Recovery Plan for Europe (2020) and the "2016 Strategy for international cultural relations", contributing to the EU response against COVID-19 pandemic and the social challenges which have been emerged.