On these days, various activities have been held across Vietnam in response to the second Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day (April 21), helping develop the reading culture sustainably.

This year, main activities will take place from April 21 to April 25 at the Thua Thien - Hue History Museum in the central province of the same name. The programme is organised by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) in collaboration with the Party Central Committee’s Commission for Information and Education, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and the provincial People's Committee.

In Hanoi capital, right from the beginning of April, its districts and Son Tay town have organised a wide range of response activities, including book exhibitions, talk shows, and book introduction and granting events.

helping develop the reading culture sustainably. Photo: VNA

The highlight was the opening ceremony of the second Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day at the Hanoi Library on April 20 with the theme of "Books: Awareness - Innovation - Creativity". Within the framework of the event, participants heard a thematic talk on "Reading culture in the 4.0 period" and activities in response to the second Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day.

In Ho Chi Minh City, more than 100 activities are expected to be held in its districts from April 19-23 to honour those working in book-related fields, and promote reading culture.

Hot topics such as ChatGPT (an artificial intelligence chatbot trained to follow an instruction in a prompt and provide a detailed response) with the writing of literature and books of today's youths, how to form a reading habit for children in the digital age, and e-books are being discussed and receiving great attention from the public.

In addition to provinces and centrally-run cities, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Ministry of Public Security have also held a lot of events to respond to the Day.

Director of the MIC Authority of Publication, Printing and Distribution Nguyen Nguyen said that this year’s Day carries two major messages of “Books: Awareness - Innovation - Creativity” and “Books for me, for you”.

The Prime Minister's Decision No.1862/QD-TTg on the organising of the annual Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day on the national scale was signed in 2021.

The day is expected to encourage and develop the reading movement among the community, contributing to building a learning society. In addition, it aims to honour readers, authors, publishers, printers and libraries that make efforts to preserve, collect and promote books.

Last year, the Vietnam Book and Reading Culture Day was held in both in-person and online format amid complicated developments of the COVID-19 pandemic.

 A series of activities with various messages will be organised until May 1 to celebrate the Việt Nam Book and Reading Culture Day 2024, heard a press conference hosted by the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC) recently. 

The day will kick off at the Temple of Literature in Hà Nội on April 17 and be broadcast live on the Hà Nội Radio and Television Station, online on platforms of local radio and television stations, as well as on websites of some press agencies.

In the framework of the ceremony, an exhibition of valuable book collections on the special national historical site – the Temple of Literature, and photos and books on Việt Nam's land and people on modern electronic platforms and print editions, will be held.

The event, the third of its kind, is expected to feature over 40,000 book titles of 60 publishers, publishing businesses, and technology enterprises.

Besides, seminars and book introduction events, and art performance programmes will be held, aiming to provide readers and visitors with a variety of experiences.

Publishing and distribution units will organise numerous promotional programmes from April 17 to 21 for readers both in-person and online to encourage them to buy and read books.

The Authority of Publication, Printing and Distribution in collaboration with the MIC’s Authority of Foreign Information Service, publishers, and relevant agencies will organise an online book fair and exhibition on the national digital platform at vietnam.vn from April 15 - 30 to serve Vietnamese citizens abroad and international friends.

The exhibition will showcase books on the Party and State's guidelines and policies, those by late President Hồ Chí Minh and Party and State leaders, outstanding works and research on Việt Nam's culture, arts and literature, and foreign-language publications released recently.

Notably, domestic and foreign readers, especially overseas Vietnamese, can directly purchase books through the connection between the national digital platform vietnam.vn and the online book marketplace Books365.vn.

According to Director of the Authority of Publication, Printing and Distribution Nguyễn Nguyên, to encourage and develop reading movement in the community, especially among the young, the MIC will collaborate with the Central Committee of the HCM Communist Youth Union (HCYU) and the Việt Nam Publishers Association (VPA) to launch a reading day among youths on April 19 at the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT).

The annual Việt Nam Book and Reading Culture Day, first held in 2022, has been considered a festival for book-lovers, helping spread the value of books as well as the reading culture in the community.