IBBY-Yamada Fund
The Child’s Right to Become a Reader
In 2005, IBBY launched a campaign to draw attention to the right of every child to become a reader. With the generous funding of the Yamada Bee Farm, that had funded several IBBY projects in the aftermath of the 2004 tsunami, the IBBY-Yamada Fund was established to provide funds for IBBY projects that help develop a book culture for children in all regions of the world.
Each year projects are developed by IBBY Members and presented to the Executive Committee. Funding is available for ten to eleven projects of about USD 5,000 per project. Most projects have matching funding from other sources. The projects selected thus far have included reading promotion programs, establishing libraries in schools and community centres, training teachers and parents in maintaining libraries and storytelling as well as workshops for writers, illustrators and editors of children's books.
IBBY-Yamada Fund Projects by Type
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.
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-Yamada Fund Projects 2022
IBBY-Yamada Fund 2022
IBBY Armenia: Book Camp in Yerevan - reading promotion activities, workshops and a cultural programme for children from the border regions of Armenia.
IBBY Cameroon: Imagine my book, my universe II - a continuation of the 2021 project to develop a culture of children’s book in Cameroon.
IBBY Cuba: The land in which I was born - workshop looking at the significance of high-quality books in communication proficiency and shaping the cultural identity of babies, children and young people.
IBBY France: Creating a library in the Emergency Accommodation Centre for Migrants, including training, book purchases, buying equipment and inviting storytellers to the library.
IBBY Lebanon: Bibliotherapy and anxiety in children - online training of professionals in bibliotherapy techniques.
IBBY Malaysia: Workshops for children providing everyday reading and speaking skills in Malay for aboriginal children in Perak and undocumented children on Sabah.
IBBY Mongolia: Reviewing children’s current reading situation through discussion with reading promoters, librarians, parents and children.
IBBY Pakistan: The Camel Caravan - bringing books where there were none, including training sessions, equipping a new camel library, purchasing new books for the existing six libraries, monitoring and evaluation.
IBBY Peru: The Trust Libraries - developing a book culture in a context of crisis. To create safe spaces for children to enjoy reading and educational resources after the long covid - lockdowns including training, buying books and workshops for management.
IBBY Zimbabwe: Story Reading Flyers for reading promotion at schools and at home - production of practical story cards for grades 1-3 and 4-7.
IBBY-Yamada Fund Projects 2021
IBBY-Yamada Fund 2021
IBBY Argentina: Los Favoritos de los Lectores - workshops on using books in schools.
IBBY Armenia: Our corner on the big world - workshops for young adults in 5 regions of Armenia.
IBBY Cameroon: Imagine my book, my universe - the challenge of developing a children’s book culture in Cameroon.
IBBY Dominican Republic: Development of a children’s library in the rural community of Hatillo.
IBBY Ecuador: I love to Read: - library extension in indigenous communities in Tungurahua.
IBBY Ghana: Capacity building in basic library management and reading promotion skills for primary school teachers.
IBBY Italy: Mamma Lingua - introductory workshop on how to use books in many languages to foster a culture of mutual comprehension in families with preschoolers.
IBBY Nepal: Stories for children after Covid-19 for the new normal - collection of children’s experiences for picture books and books for parents.
IBBY Sri Lanka: Let’s make books and reading fun! - series of workshops on illustrating, storytelling techniques, bibliotherapy and mentoring.
IBBY Ukraine: Green wave of eco-reading - events and workshops to promote environmental reading for everyone with no limits.
IBBY Zimbabwe: Stories to mitigate the Covid-19 social distancing requirements, recorded on CDs and circulated to schools for children and young people.
IBBY-Yamada Fund Projects 2020
IBBY-Yamada Fund 2020
IBBY Argentina: Books for children at hospital - The world is health: stories and tales in hospital
IBBY Armenia: Reading promotion in rural regions of Armenia.
IBBY Bolivia: Creating a children's library in a remote village - The challenge of reading where there are no books
IBBY Costa Rica: Promoting gender equality through books - Los libros violetas
IBBY El Salvador: Habits of reading and communicating - Leer es Maravillosa
IBBY Indonesia: Trauma healing for children affected by flooding and earthquakes in Indonesia
IBBY Lebanon: Reading promotion for children with special needs.
IBBY Nepal: Developing wordless picture books for Nepalese children.
IBBY Peru: Storytelling and workshops for children by the sea - Vengan los niños y niñas a pescar historias en el mar de Chorillos - Children come and fish up stories at the sea in Chorillos
IBBY South Africa: Creating new African children’s books - Pan-African Book Dash
IBBY Sri Lanka: Activities and training to revive the art of storytelling in pre-schools
Information about the IBBY-Yamada projects from 2006 to 2019 can be found in the Archives.
