Federal Reading Day 2025 embodies the slogan: "Speaking Your Language"
Germany's National Reading Day 2025 is set to take place on November 21st, 2025, with the motto "Reading Aloud Speaks Your Language." This joint initiative by DIE ZEIT, Stiftung Lesen, and Deutsche Bahn Stiftung aims to emphasize the importance of reading aloud and its role in fostering language skills, cultural expression, and communication.
The significance and goals of this day include promoting literacy and language development, strengthening cultural identity and communication, building a reading culture, and making reading interactive and accessible.
Reading aloud can help listeners and speakers alike appreciate the nuances of language, enhance vocabulary, and improve comprehension. By bringing languages to life, including dialects and minority languages, it fosters a shared cultural experience.
The focus on reading aloud aligns with broader European goals to enhance literacy and cultural engagement. Initiatives like European Authors Day, with its call to "READ. FOR REAL." to create a culture valuing reading and creativity, reflect similar themes.
This year's National Reading Day is extended with the Digital Reading Festival, offering children access to reading videos regardless of location. This makes it possible for children and multilingual communities to engage through the auditory and social dimensions of reading aloud, even from afar.
The National Reading Day aims to inspire children and adults to read aloud and promote voluntary engagement in reading. Early promotion is needed to prevent many children from not being or rarely being read to, which negatively affects their later reading skills.
The document related to the 2025 National Reading Day can be found at 2907_PM_VLT-Motto.pdf. The file size of the document is 68 kB. The National Reading Day does not specify any requirements or eligibility criteria for participation in the event.
Stories work universally in every language and create understanding, foster exchange, strengthen togetherness, and lay the foundation for learning to read. Reading aloud can be a universal bridge across linguistic and cultural barriers, empowering critical thinking and cultural participation.
[1] European Authors Day: https://authorsday.eu/en/
- To extend the impact of Germany's National Reading Day 2025, the event will be accompanied by a Digital Reading Festival, ensuring that reading videos are accessible to children worldwide, bridging linguistic and cultural gaps.
- Recognizing the power of reading aloud as a universal bridge, the literary scene of home-and-garden, lifestyle, books, and entertainment sectors can collaborate to foster language learning, cultural exchange, and shared experiences, echoing the motto "Reading Aloud Speaks Your Language."
