The iRead Foundation is a charitable foundation in China dedicated to promoting children’s reading and education. The Foundation’s mission is to share the joy of reading with every child and guide them to become a lifelong reader.

IBBY is an international non-profit organization founded by Jella Lepman in 1953 in Zurich, Switzerland. Today, it is composed of almost 80 National Sections, bringing books and children in the world together.

As the missions of the iRead Foundation and IBBY are highly consistent, iRead and IBBY have agreed to co-establish the IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award. In addition, iRead will sponsor some of IBBY’s administrative expenditure.

The award

The IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award is co-established by the iRead Foundation and IBBY. This is a biennial award for reading promoters worldwide who have made outstanding contribution to children’s reading.

Purpose of the award

This award has been established by iRead and IBBY to encourage a real commitment to the cause of reading promotion in the hope of spreading this dedication to others around the globe. The award will encourage further investment by individuals, organizations and governments in the promotion of children’s reading.  The award will stimulate educational innovation, much greater access to children’s books and an enhanced profile for children’s reading promotion—key tools in global, social, economic and cultural development—all in the context of Article 17(C)) of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Components of the award

The award comprises the following elements:

- 200,000 RMB Yuan to each winner

- 150,000 RMB Yuan to each WINNER to be donated to a not-for-profit children’s reading promotion project selected by the winner.

- An official certificate

- A trophy

Criteria for the selection of the winners

All nominees will be assessed using the following judging criteria. However, it is understood that the candidates do not need to meet all the listed criteria. These criteria will be applied according to the particular social, political, economic, and environmental circumstances in which the candidate has been working.

Sustainability

- Has shown over at least three years evidence of exploration and practical experience that can be verified and demonstrated with material evidence.

- Has demonstrated the ability to manage costs.

- Has clear plans for the future of the project and for the development of further goals and actions.

- Has developed effective mechanisms to obtain further resources and to ensure the continuous benefit and influence of the project.

- The project can be understood, copied and expanded to different parts of the world and in different circumstances.

Influence

- Has made an outstanding contribution to children’s right to read; children’s reading promotion; and equality in access to reading education.

- Has contributed significantly to the development of the general public’s consciousness of the importance of reading and to the improvement in the ecological system of reading promotion and reading education.

- Has helped to shape the work of other reading promoters both nationally and internationally.

- Has influenced others in the field of reading education, both formal and informal, and has shown strength in creating networks and linkages in their community, where possible with governments, industry connected to the book culture, such as publishing, book sellers, and media.

Dedication to the common good

- Has practiced a spirit of generosity and a humanistic approach to the care of children.

- Has demonstrated a willingness to share experiences and methods of children’s reading promotion and reading education.

Innovation

- Has shown innovation in cooperation, communication and promotion of social engagement and has demonstrated an ability to mobilize the community.

- Has developed innovative strategies in research and development, and for the management of reading promotion and reading projects in educational environments.

- Has led the way in the introduction of new technologies, new methods and new modes to solve the children’s reading promotion and reading education problems through the Internet and technological change.

Inspiration

- The Winners will be selected on their ability to demonstrate actions and methods that can inspire individuals, organizations, communities and governments to give priority to the benefits that children’s reading can create for the children themselves and to their society.

Selection process and timetable

- Every two years IBBY will invite its National Sections to nominate a suitable candidate for the IBBY-iRead Outstanding Reading Promoter Award.

- The invitation to nominate will be disseminated in February in the year preceding an IBBY world Congress.

- The nominations will be submitted to the award jury in June that year.

- The award jury will study and assess all nominations.

- IBBY will convene the award jury meeting in connection with its second Executive Committee meeting in that year.

- The winners will be announced at the IBBY Press Conference at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair the following year.

- The winners will receive their prize at the IBBY World Congress.