Infants, standard four students and teenagers were among the five hundred and sixty persons from Arima and environs who participated in the Arima Public Library’s World Read Aloud Day (WRAD) series of activities held from March 4 to 8, 2013. World Read Aloud Day is celebrated annually on March 6.

Held in collaboration with the Reading Association of Trinidad and Tobago and MOMs For Literacy, the Arima Public Library’s first ever WRAD activities were arranged to target each age group. 

WRAD was founded in March 2010 by LitWorld, a non-profit organisation based in the United States of America. WRAD is intended to bring attention to the number of persons worldwide who are illiterate and to advocate for the right of all people to become literate. 

WRAD serves to motivate children, teens and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words and to reiterate that the right to read belongs to everyone. The celebration encourages persons to embrace the reading habit and foster a sense of esteem and confidence in their reading abilities.

Persons who attended the Arima Public Library’s WRAD progrmme have been added to the hundreds of participants around the world who took part in this special day. In 2012 sixty five countries participated in WRAD events.

The National Library and Information Systems Authority (NALIS) joins with Lit World in advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology.