International Literacy Day 2019

Stuff has published an article on 8 September 2019 titled 'International Literacy Day: More than 440,000 Kiwi adults not reading books', available here. Extracts from the article follow:

The rise of streaming services such as Netflix is contributing to the decrease in Kiwis reading books, a literacy expert says.

Sunday, September 8 is International Literacy Day. The annual day was launched to raise awareness of the importance of reading, writing and numeracy for individuals, communities and societies.

Read NZ chief executive Jo Cribb said a 2018 study found that 442,600 Kiwi adults didn't read a book in the past year. 

As an organisation, Cribb said Read NZ was doing whatever it could to make reading "cool again".

For parents, it was important that children saw them reading books and books were read to them to pique their interest.

Seeing someone reading on a bus or someone a person admires reading may also increase a person's interest in reading too, she said.

Cribb said there was an expectation that all people knew how to read.

Many people who cannot read believe illiteracy is something to be ashamed of and didn't speak up as a result, she said.