Reading Empowers

The world is rapidly progressing into what is being called the ‘knowledge economy’ where information gathering, collating and accessing capacity will be the measure of national success. Knowledge is truly power in increasing intensity of meaning.This power is of course obtained through education and the best way – in fact the only way of accumulating this strategic power is through the instrument of reading.
The beautiful habit of reading – for informative content or for the simple pleasure derived from the humble yet mighty written word, is sadly not an Ethiopian forte. If this apathy for reading continues there is a huge risk that a knowedge challenged generation will be created in the near future.
Ethiopian culture, rich in good traits as it, is through its mind boggling diversity, sadly missing that something which makes a country a population of readers. It is a telling mark of the many conflicting natures of the Ethiopian dynamic that a civilization that had developed in ancient times and still maintains the only alphabet native to Africa, should in this day and age be classified as among the least read populations on the continent.
Some hard truths are in order, taken off the history shelf and also from the reports and studies complied over the years by various international organizations.
The national literacy rate hovers at between 42-50% and although this rate, low as it is, is not drastically lower than most Least Developed Nations (LDC), the daily newspaper circulation averages in Ethiopia are the lowest on the continent for those countries that have allowed freedom of the press. Currently, only 0.4 newspaper(s) circulate daily for 1000 Ethiopians. Kenya (literacy 71%) is apparently a much more reading oriented populace as 8.5 newspapers are shared among 1000 citizens.
The volume and print run of the few books published every year languishes in the few thousands as authors are not assured of a reading public, not to mention the many direct obstacles such as high costs and the lack of effective distribution networks.
The task at hand is on discussing by what means the culture of reading can be instilled in our society. It may yet be possible to create a well-read generation by focusing resources on the very young – the window of opportunity - to borrow a phrase. The task is gargantuan, the patience and time required arduous but the gains will be in the form of an intelligent society which can challenge head on the age of globalization by empowering itself with knowledge.
There are numerous steps that can be taken at all levels; individual, collectively, by civil society, corporate and state structures. Among these are:
1. Establishment of subsidized libraries at Kebele or
at least, Wereda level.
2. Incentives to encourage authors of children’s books.
3. A review of the nation’s publishing industry in a bid to
promote wider dissemination of written material.
4. The provision of reading material, particularly periodicals,
in all high schools.
5. An awards program to encourage literacy excellence.
These and other measures, in various forms, have been applied in other spheres and are proving to be effective. The success being registered in the export sector for example, is evidence that even modest intervention can make a world of difference. It is not hard to imagine the gains that could be garnered from a campaign promoting the habit of reading. Ethiopia has and is surmounting several challenges successfully. Surely, getting the society to love reading books will not be half as steep as any of those mountains.