"Books - Knowledge and the aspiration for development"

In response to Vietnam's Book and Reading Culture Day (April 21st) with the message "Books - Knowledge and the aspiration for development," Son La province is implementing a series of vibrant activities to spread the love of books to the community. Through practical solutions, the reading movement not only awakens the spirit of learning but also creates motivation for innovation and creativity, contributing to building a sustainable learning society.

Northwest University organizes activities related to reading culture.

The promotion of reading habits is increasingly being innovated and flexibly organized by units and localities throughout the province, adapting to practical conditions and modern environments, and suiting the needs and preferences of readers. Among these, the "Green Library," "Knowledge House," and "Library Corner" models are developing widely in schools, helping to build reading habits for young children, creating conditions for students to limit their use of electronic devices, and finding joy in the discovery of reading.

At Tran Quoc Toan Primary School in To Hieu Ward, the new library model, established in 2020 with support from Room to Read, marked a turning point for the school in fostering a reading culture and self-learning spirit during the most challenging period when the curriculum was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic. To date, the library model is being effectively maintained and expanded with new formats, contributing to the development of the reading movement at the school. Ms. Dao Thi Thanh Huyen, the school principal, shared: "Through providing online learning materials, linking with other schools, and organizing library reading sessions with practical content, teachers, students, and even parents have been encouraged to read. In particular, the one-hour library reading session per class per week, along with extracurricular activities and reading models, helps students proactively explore, create, express their thoughts, and apply knowledge from books to their studies."

Students from Chiềng Xôm Primary and Secondary School, Chiềng An Ward, participated in an extracurricular program on reading culture with a speaker.

With the development of the digital age, reading habits have gradually been affected. Therefore, efforts to promote a reading culture have been implemented by various levels of government, agencies, and localities through numerous forms, creating widespread impact and gradually raising awareness of the importance of reading. A prime example is the construction of community libraries through the mobilization of social resources and book donations. In just a few years, the entire province has built more than 130 "Houses of Wisdom," community libraries, along with STEM classes and ethnic culture classes. Models such as "Green Libraries" in schools, "Compassionate Libraries," and legal book collections are maintained in residential communities. The Provincial Center for Culture and Sports maintains a traditional library and 52 branches and book stations throughout the province. In particular, since 2017, the unit has implemented a mobile library model with a frequency of more than 50 trips per year, serving readers in schools, especially in remote and disadvantaged areas.

Children read books at the library of the Provincial Cultural and Sports Center.

Furthermore, numerous communication activities and events have been organized to promote reading culture in the community, especially in schools, such as: the Reading Culture Ambassador Contest, book reading festivals, book exhibitions and presentations... Through these efforts, Son La is gradually forming a learning ecosystem linked to innovation from the grassroots level, helping to gradually improve indicators with 52.8% of citizens learning; 83.47% of families learning; and 91.54% of communities learning by 2025. In 2024, Son La city was inscribed by UNESCO into the "Global Learning Cities Network," now the Son La Learning Community Alliance, comprising the wards of To Hieu, Chieng Sinh, Chieng Coi, and Chieng An. This is a proud achievement, recognizing the persistent efforts of the locality in building a learning community.

Mr. Hoang Manh Ha, Head of the Culture and Social Affairs Department of To Hieu Ward, informed: In October 2025, To Hieu Ward had the honor of representing the Son La Community Learning Alliance at the International Conference on Building Global Learning Cities in Shanghai (China). The conference discussed, shared experiences, and developed a detailed plan to realize the commitment to UNESCO on lifelong learning, and provided an opportunity for Son La representatives to learn from advanced models in other countries.

Mobile libraries serve readers at the local level.

On April 21st this year, the People's Committee of Son La province agreed to organize the 2026 Son La Provincial Book and Science & Technology Festival, with a series of rich activities including: organizing a reading space, displaying and introducing booths, the "House of Wisdom," experiencing mobile libraries; a "Golden Bell" quiz competition, introducing creative booths, digital technology... This is a practical activity aimed at attracting a large number of students, intellectuals, officials, Party members, civil servants, employees, and people in the province to participate, thereby further spreading the reading culture, promoting the development of science and technology, innovation and digital transformation in Son La province.

Building upon past achievements, promoting reading culture movements linked to the application of science and technology is a new direction for improving the quality of human resources and realizing the goal of building a learning society in Son La. When traditional values ​​are firmly connected with modern thinking, knowledge will spread from each individual to the community, creating a strong intrinsic driving force for Son La to move towards sustainable development, enabling each citizen to confidently explore new horizons and firmly integrate into the digital age.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/khoa-giao/sach-tri-thuc-va-khat-vong-phat-trien-EuBz1whvR.html