Reading not only stimulates the imagination and helps us relax, but also trains our cognitive abilities. In fact, reading is an amazingly complex skill that requires the brain to precisely coordinate numerous perceptual and mental functions. Good readers therefore have better concentration, a better verbal short-term memory and a larger vocabulary. In short, reading offers a range of benefits.
Strengthening reading skills
"Reading is a superpower that opens the doors to the world for us," says the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research. However, solid reading skills cannot be taken for granted. The "Reading Ambassadors" initiative was launched to motivate children and young people in particular to reach for the bookshelf and read more often. The aim is to strengthen reading skills and reading motivation in Austria.
Reading ambassadors as motivators
Reading ambassadors are public figures who are keen to inspire people to read - including boxer Marcos Nader. "A boxer who reads? Of course, anything else would be clichés that have long since ceased to fit. Language creates reality and that's exactly why books and their words are also very important in my world," he explains.
Other people who are campaigning as reading ambassadors include model, singer and Miss Europe Beatrice Turin, journalist and author Chris Lohner, actor and director Michael Schottenberg, FC Redbull Salzburg goalkeeper Alexander Schlager, journalist and TV presenter Vera Russwurm, food blogger Verena Pelikan, synchronised swimmers Anna-Maria Alexandri, Eirini Marina Alexandri and Vasiliki Alexandri and karate athlete Bettina Plank.
It's great that people from public life are getting involved in this initiative. An idea worth emulating!
#schongenial. We make positive things visible.
Source: Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research, Max Planck Society
