Croatian Reading Association
The Croatian Reading Association is a nongovernmental, not-for-profit and voluntary association whose mission is to encourage, research and promote reading and literacy. The CroRA has approximately 375 members who are mostly librarians, teachers, university professors, pedagogues, special education teachers, psychologists, writers, students, publishers, etc. It organizes different activities for the celebration of the International Literacy Day: the contest Smile… while reading! for the best photography of a reading person, and a conference for librarians, teachers, pediatricians, preschool teachers, parents and educators to raise awareness about the importance of literacy.
AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE LITERACY PROMOTION IN EUROPE
- Bibliotherapy for war trauma (2001)
- Prison reading program (2017)
Publications: The Association’s magazine Hamster (Hrčak) and electronic newsletter
Executive Board
- President: Karolina Zlatar Radigović
- Vice Presidents: Snježana Berak and Margareta Matijević Kunst
- FELA representative: Margareta Matijević Kunst
Website: http://www.hcd.hr
Recent activities:
- CroRa in partnership with another 4 partners was part of a project Our Street Books funded by the European Social Fund till May 2020.
- Snježana Berak and Kristina Čunović finished the Croatian Prison Reading Program for Detainees and their Children, which successfully lasted for three years.
- Celebrated The International Children’s Book Day online.
- Continue our National Campaign “Read to me!” by reading picture books and performing several puppets shows on video films.
- Conference Digital literacy and strategies for digital inclusion was held in partnership with the largest publisher in Croatia, Školska knjiga Zagreb, and Croatian library for the blind (8 September, 2021 – the International Literacy Day); special guest on the conference was FELA and ELINET member Jeroen Clemens.
- The 16th Photo contest Smile… while reading! for the best photography of a reading person
Upcoming events:
- Croatian Government declared the year 2021 the Year of Reading based on the proposal by the Ministry of Culture and Media, CroRa is taking part by announcing a different reading contest every month.
- Publication of “Hamster”, the magazine published by the association (to be thematically related to the conference);
- As a part of a national event Croatian Book Month, CroRa is organizing a virtual reading marathon a “Minute for reading“. The purpose of this marathon is to popularize reading through reading for pleasure.
- Continue our National Campaign “Read to me!” to promote reading to children from early age.