Transforming the lives of thousands of children from historically low-income communities in Hong Kong by developing their literacy skills, providing them with books where they feel represented, and helping them pursue a fulfilling, quality education.
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OUTPUT
20 bilingual books are being developed, featuring stories in Cantonese and Hindi, Urdu or Filipino. Ten books feature original stories, ten are adaptations from Room to Read’s international collection.
OUTCOME
Over 2,000 children from low-income, minority backgrounds will have greater access to high quality books in their homes, that can be used to engage with parents, caregivers and community members.
HIGHLIGHT
In the Writers and Illustrators workshop, local creators from Hong Kong and those with migrant backgrounds gathered to jointly create powerful stories with high quality illustrations that they wished they had as a child.
Reading is a ticket to freedom and choice
Our Commitment
The Julius Baer Foundation and Room to Read address wealth inequality by increasing the inclusion and literacy skills of children from low-income communities in Hong Kong. The project focuses on:
- researching the extent of 'Book Deserts' in Hong Kong, defining the best ways to service them and identifying existing structures that can be used to provide books;
- assessing, funding and implementing a children’s book publishing, distribution and family engagement programme, to create 10 new book titles and adapt another 10 books that meet the reading needs of over 2,000 disadvantaged children;
- addressing unmet literacy needs that put children at greater risk of inter-generational poverty;
- nurturing connections with high net-worth individuals to support the establishment of home libraries and ensure the future of the project.
Hong Kong consistently ranks among the top education systems in the world, providing 15 years of free, equitable schooling for all.
However, children from low-income ethnic minorities backgrounds face learning challenges due to language barriers. While Hong’s Kong’s main language, Cantonese, is spoken by 88% of the population, the large majority of children from non-Cantonese speaking families cannot speak the language and experience low levels of reading and writing proficiency once they begin formal education.
Stories and literature affect how we live our lives, see other people and think about ourselves. Today, millions of children are growing up with their faces, stories and cultures absent from the pages of books.
Together with thousands of local authors and illustrators, Room to Read has published more than 4,800 original and adapted children’s books and distributed over 32 million books that engage young readers with characters that ring true to them.
In high-income communities, every child has an average of 13 books; in high-poverty communities there is one book for every 300 children.
In Hong Kong, children from low-income ethnic minority groups do not have sufficient access to bilingual books.
Working with Room to Read, we aim to further the education and life prospects of at least 2,000 children in Hong Kong’s low-income communities.
The project is creating and distributing books that amplify their voices and stories and will support families in engaging their children on the path to literacy.
From insufficient literacy…
Children from low-income, minority communities often lack reading materials to practice reading and build sufficient literacy skills in Cantonese. As a result, many fall behind, unable to pursue higher education and improve social mobility.
... to academic and social proficiency.
With bilingual children’s books mirroring the life stories of young learners from migrant families, the children’s literacy and confidence level is improved, allowing them to unfold their potential academically and socially.
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