IBBY-Yamada Fund

The range of Yamada projects is enormous, depending on the needs of the community. All of the projects aim to promote a reading culture, some of them with an emphasis on storytelling. Others involve creating books, these can be storybooks, wordless books or writing down folktales of a community. 

Some projects have focused on books for pre-school children or books and projects especially for young adults. Others have been directed at selected groups of children: school classes, children with special needs, children in marginal communities and children in rural or remote communities, children who are refugees, vulnerable children and children in hospitals. To reach children in remote or poor communities mini libraries have been created on motorbikes and camels or in crates in restaurants.

Some projects aim to involve parents, specifically mothers, in encouraging reading. There have been many projects and workshops for reading promotion aimed at teachers and librarians. These are often done as part of the establishment of libraries in schools and community centres. Many projects and workshops aim to encourage local authors, illustrators and translators in creating quality books for children. There have been projects to bring together academics in the field of children’s literature, as well as projects that seek to shape government policy on reading.

Reading promotion activities can take place inside - in schools, libraries and community centres, but they can also be held outside - on street corners, in public parks, in gardens, at summer camps and by the sea. Most recently, due to restrictions related to covid-19, many projects have been held online.

IBBY Canada (Postponed to 2025)
Building a Reading Culture in Indigenous Communities: From Sea to Sea to Sea
Project aiming at creating appreciation and access to high quality Indigenous picture books in Indigenous communities across the country; a curated list of the finest picture books by First Nations, Métis and Inuit writers will be at the centre of the initiative.

IBBY Dominican Republic
Lleva un libro en la maleta (Roundtrip Book Exchange project)
Dual peace education project based on training and book exchange between the communities of two vulnerable neighbourhoods, Capotillo in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) and Tetuán, Madrid (Spain).

IBBY Egypt
Capacity Building in Basic Library Management and Reading Promotion Skills in Al Asmarat, New Cairo
Pilot reading promotion project aimed at improving literacy levels and critical thinking among displaced and/or impoverished children; it includes the training of teachers, co-ordinators & parents.

IBBY Indonesia
The Magic of Reading in the Hands of Young People – Let Them Shine
Project centred on the concepts of peace, tolerance and inclusion through the creation of books for schools with Disabilities.

IBBY Lebanon
Library for Refugees
Establishment of a library at the Tahaddi teaching centre for refugees and providing library training to the teachers.

IBBY Malaysia
Bibliotherapy for Undocumented Children in East Malaysia: A Training for Trainers
A continuation of the IBBY Malaysia Yamada project in 2022, this new initiative focuses on the training of teachers and volunteers to conduct a bibliotherapy sessions with undocumented children.

IBBY Peru
Leer en familia (Reading in family)
Technical assistance to Los Olivos Municipality to implement a family support program that ensures the improvement of their parenting competencies through reading practices and book-centred activities.

IBBY Uganda
Developing Creative Writing Interest and Skills Among Children in Vulnerable Communities
To impart skills and promote composing and production of reading materials for children by children; To produce as many books as possible to help in the promotion and development of a reading habit among children, the youth and adults.

IBBY Venezuela
San Mateo Reads More and Better
Implementation of reading promotion actions in partnership with the Kunst Zonder Grenzen Foundation to make reading a permanent habit among children aged 7–14 in communities of San Matero, Anzoátegui State.

IBBY Zimbabwe
Empowering new authors for young people and children’s literature
Workshops and training sessions aiming at empowering authors nation-wide and promoting the creation of children’s contents with the involvement of publishers.