AS PART of its ongoing efforts to boost readership given declining reading scores, the National Book Development Board has formed the National Alliance of Reading Advocates, a network that gathers readership advocacy groups and individuals from all over the country to form a unified network that will enable collaboration and better spread the news on existing readership initiatives.

In anticipation of its official launch this November, the alliance had its soft launch last April 26, 2024 at the main stage of the Philippine Book Festival at the World Trade Center Manila, where reading advocacy groups and individuals pledged their commitment to the alliance.

As a platform dedicated to nurturing a robust national reading culture, the NARA shall form a mesh of various readership campaigns through an online community,called NARA Connect, and regular milestone meetings and conferences on the state of readership in the country.

Besides consolidating readership campaigns from around the country, the alliance shall also aid in the cross-media adaptation of Philippine literary works, the creation of fan-based markets, and help popularize home-grown literary characters.

“With the decline of readership in non-school books, it is high time for the NBDB to gather all advocates and like-minded people who promote readership in the country. We at the NBDB dream of a community of reading advocates who support each other,” said Daniel Mariano, chief of the Board’s Readership Development Division.

The BRDD is the agency’s unit responsible for the nationwide reading community, the Book Nook project.

“Many Filipinos love stories—be it in the form of film, TV, or literature. As reading advocates, we call on all our allies to enrich this interest in stories and use it to create a stronger national reading culture,” added Mariano.

As the largest traveling book fair in the country, the PBF was the perfect venue to introduce to the public the NBDB’s latest readership campaign.

“There is a reading crisis—and it is high time that we all start working together to address it. We have a systemic problem when it comes to building and nurturing reading habits in our society, and so we must therefore face this with a cohesive strategy,” said NBDB Executive Director Charisse Aquino -Tugade, who delivered the State of the Reading Nation during the soft launch.

The NARA soft launch also served as the alliance’s first wide-scale orientation, which was attended by representatives from the following organizations: UN SDSN Youth Philippines, ASEAN Youth Organization, READ to Achieve Foundation Philippines, Inc., Yellow Boat of Hope Foundation, Binhi English Literacy Foundation, Magbasa Tayo Movement, AHA! Learning Center, The Storytelling Project, Libro Mo, Kaalam Ko project, Project Pearls Inc., School Readers Club, Pinoy Reading Buddies, IBBY Philippines, Philippine Association of Colleges and Universities, Association of Progressive and Orthodox Literature and Literature Originators, Laguna Province Private Schools and Administrators Association, Inc., Rizal Library of Ateneo De Manila University, St. Mary’s Publishing Corporation, Claretian Communication Foundations, Inc., Inteligente Publishing, Paper Katz, FDM Vision Care Research and Training Institute, Beyond Books Publication, 8 Letters Bookstore and Publishing, DIWA Learning Systems, Inc.