Message From Kru Ekachai - August

Reading Is The Key To Success

Bangkok has been declared as “ World Book Capital 2013”. The city was selected  by a committee made up of representatives from the publishing world and UNESCO in Paris last year. Bangkok is the 13^th city to be designated World Book Capital following Madrid (2001), Alexandria (2002), New Delhi (2003), Antwerp (2004), Montreal (2005), Turin (2006), Bogotá (2007), Amsterdam (2008), Beirut (2009), Ljubljana (2010), Buenos Aires (2011) and Yerevan (2012).

Great news for a bookworm like me indeed! I love reading books so much, both fiction and non-fiction. I always cuddle up with a good book on a weekend or rainy day. And I have longed for a learning society in my own country for ages. Becoming UNESCO World Book Capital City by the end of this year will be a golden opportunity to create Thailand as a nation of readers.

Reading is very important for all mankind. If you can read, then you can write and you can understand the meaning behind the text. There are a lots of benefits of reading, no matter you read for pleasure or literacy achievement. Good books can open the door to a great future and it can lead you into a path of success. But Thai people don’t like reading.

Actually, raising the level of reading in Thailand has been on the national agenda since 2009, however, Thais still read so few books each year.They prefer light reading material like newspaper or magazines to books. A few years ago, the research revealed that on average the Thai people read seven lines a year. Well, it’s so hard to admit the truth. But it is not a common sight to see the Thai people read while they are riding public transit, especially on the bus or train. It's really a big problem. How to sort this out?

Parents play an important role in nurturing the reading habit among their children at an early age. They should create a positive reading environment at home and promote reading as an activity that bonds a family. Teachers are powerful role models for reading at schools and students should read more books, not just revsion books or text books for examinations. The government should build more public libraries in rural areas to promote nationwide literacy and improve reading habits of Thais.

In conclusion, it’s high time to effectively inculcate the love of reading, lifelong learning and creative thinking for young Thais. Henceforth they must be prepared to become quality citizens of the ASEAN community in the coming years. Let’s build Thailand as a nation of readers. This is because reading is the real key to success.

Thank you for your interest,

Kru Ekachai