Is Reading Back in the Good Books of the Younger Generation?

After decades of decline for the public library, are we seeing a renaissance? Recent reports in China talk of a new trend – the ‘hush hour‘ in Beijing – as people begin to connect more with reading and new libraries open. Meanwhile, in the UK, reading has gone ‘“social” – with TikTok teaming up with the National Literacy Trust (NLT) to reinforce the importance of reading for the younger generation and delivering 20 “BookTok Bookshelves” to locations across the country.

Personally, I see all of these as welcome initiatives to an issue that is central to my work in philanthropy for the last two decades.

As the third generation of a family deeply rooted in philanthropy, I’ve learned invaluable lessons from each preceding generation. Throughout his life, my grandfather gave generously, and today, we recognise his style of giving as charity or patronage giving.

My father also gave generously, but unlike his peers, he understood that time was often more valuable than just his financial contribution.

My approach, meanwhile, has since evolved to incorporate a more structured approach to philanthropy. One that requires donor time and effort but with a level of domain expertise and focus, to make the right investments to achieve the greatest impact.

As Chair of The Chen Yet-Sen Family Foundation, which builds on my family’s charitable legacy, I’ve applied this longer-term vision of philanthropy to our commitment to improving childhood literacy and transforming the culture of reading in Mainland China and Hong Kong. Our mission is to nurture the next generation by fostering a love of reading and promoting innovative learning techniques.

Our ambition is to raise a generation that loves reading and to educate all on the importance of joyful reading for holistic child development. These latest initiatives are exciting progress in our quest.

Reading is often seen from an academic lens – necessary to excel in school and to get a good job. While this is of course crucial for development, it does not always incentivise a lifelong love of reading and continued development. That is what we seek to change.

One cornerstone of our efforts is a ‘software’ approach to improving literacy through the Stone Soup Happy Reading Alliance, a testament to our belief that reading should be a happy, free, and voluntary experience. The Alliance, founded in 2007 in Hefei, Anhui Province, acts as a local exemplar for school reading and the development of libraries in Mainland China. As of 2024, there are 40 Alliance schools in Anhui.

The Stone Soup Happy Reading Alliance aims to build a reading culture on school campuses and encourage a mindset change among students, parents and teachers that positively promotes reading for pleasure. Through an ambitious initiative, we are transforming education and literacy outcomes in China by providing books while providing training and strategic advice.

Alongside our work with the Stone Soup Happy Reading Alliance in China, we opened the Hong Kong chapter of ‘Bring Me A Book’; a reading charity from the United States, with the aim of bringing the concept of “reading for pleasure” to the children of Hong Kong. My wife and I were inspired, as we had young children of our own, and we were passionate about the concept of ensuring that every child is read to, nurturing this development to strengthen the family bond.

Reading for pleasure aims to revolutionise family literacy with a holistic, research-based approach to child development through the power of reading. By equipping under-resourced schools, community centres, and family healthcare clinics with the knowledge and skills to raise lovers of literature, Bring Me A Book Hong Kong (BMABHK) is tackling the problem at multiple levels to drive systemic, transformative change.

Since its founding in 2006, BMABHK has now installed hundreds of bookcases across schools, kindergartens and education centres in Hong Kong and has provided over 180,000 children with easy access to quality picture books in English and Chinese.

To encourage reading, the most necessary element is the physical access to books. These bookcases are curated to tap into the children’s interests, helping motivate them to read and learn. More than 30,000 parents and educators have participated in its read-aloud training programmes, with 98% of parents now committed to reading more with their children.

A further initiative on our global literacy journey has been the creation of the Feng Zikai Chinese Children’s Picture Book Award. Picture books are a great way of encouraging children to discover their love of reading. However, we discovered that original Chinese picture books were in short supply. So, we established the award to encourage a new generation of authors and illustrators of Chinese Children’s picture books.

The Award aims to transform the landscape of children’s literature available in China by recognising outstanding authors and illustrators in the industry. The award was set up to address the lack of quality content in available children’s books and emphasises the importance of reading in a child’s development. By introducing new quality content, it helps to further cultivate a reading culture amongst children in the Chinese-speaking world.

After twenty years dedicated to encouraging a love of reading, I’m inspired to see these latest initiatives capture the imagination of a new generation of readers. They will be instrumental in building on what’s already there, growing the seeds for a future where every child can enjoy reading for pleasure and helping them thrive intellectually and emotionally.