Journey to the Heart of Villages with a Backpack Full of Books and Stories

According to Iran Book News Agency (IBNA) in Hamedan, on the occasion of the Week of Book and Reading, mobile rural trainers from the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults of Hamedan province, with extensive planning, traveled to various villages in the counties of Hamedan, Famenin, Tuyserkan, Bahar, Malayer, and other parts of the province, creating days filled with books, stories, and cultural activities for children.

This book-oriented movement was carried out with the aim of delivering cultural services to underprivileged areas and providing study opportunities for children who have limited access to books, libraries, and cultural facilities.

In the villages of Dehdeliyan and Arablou in Hamedan county, Hamedan’s mobile trainers, with the slogan ‘Let’s Read for Iran,’ implemented programs including book reading, storytelling, and intellectual and board games for 43 students, and children were able to borrow their favorite books.

Hamedan’s urban mobile center also held programs at Kheradmand School with the presence of 100 female students, including storytelling, book introductions, explaining the philosophy behind naming Book Week, introducing Allameh Tabataba’i in simple language, and Nahj al-Balagha reading, and finally awarded prizes to the most active readers.

In Qeshlaq Hameh Kasi village, the mobile rural trainer of Bahar county, by implementing a storytelling promotion program and introducing the storytelling festival, acquainted children with the importance of narration and story reading and encouraged them to borrow suitable books.

Additionally, trainers from fixed and mobile rural centers in Bahar county, in cooperation with other cultural institutions, organized a joyful parade of beloved books for children and teenagers in Rasul Abad village, from the library to the school, and implemented various cultural, artistic, and literary programs for them.

One of the most special programs took place in Kasb village, the birthplace of Master Gholamreza Bektash, a subdivision of Malayer county; where Gholamreza Bektash, a well-known poet of children’s and young adult literature and a native of this very village, met with children in an intimate gathering at the invitation of the Kannon’s mobile rural center and in cooperation with the Basij Sisters.

During this meeting, Bektash spoke about the importance of literature and the joy of reading and writing, asking children to replace excessive mobile use with studying. At the end of the session, the mobile trainer also awarded prizes to selected readers. This program was held with the presence of village elders and 35 members, creating a lasting memory for the children.

The extensive activities of mobile rural trainers during Book Week showed that mobile libraries continue to be an important pillar in cultural justice and in bringing reading opportunities to the remotest areas. The books that reached children these days were not only an opportunity for study but also a bridge for them to encounter imagination, creativity, and new experiences; a bridge that the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children is striving to preserve with strength.