The Palestinian NGO Tamir Institute won the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for promoting reading among children and teens. The prize is 5 million Swedish kronor.
The Palestinian non-governmental organization the Tamir Institute, which promotes reading among children and young people, has been awarded the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for literature.The annual Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award for Literature “for works for children and young people” is intended to draw the attention of the world public to literature for children and adolescents and to children’s rights. It may be awarded not only to a writer or artist for an exceptional contribution to the development of children’s books, but also for any activity promoting reading and protecting children’s rights.
The amount of the award is 5 million Swedish kronor ($620,000). The award ceremony will take place on June 2, and the prize will be presented by Crown Princess Victoria of the Kingdom of Sweden.
It is interesting that in 2002 Princess Victoria admitted in an interview with the BBC news service that she suffers from dyslexia and cannot read. During that interview, the eldest daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia also said that from early childhood her classmates had mocked her because of the condition: “I got used to thinking that I was stupid and couldn’t do anything quickly. My classmates thought it was funny, but I suffered. When you have problems with reading and spelling, you have to make more effort. At first glance it may seem like a small thing, but it is not.”
The Palestinian “Tamir Institute for Public Education” promotes children’s reading in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
As a reminder, this year the name of children’s writer Sergei Mikhalkov was also among the nominees for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award. In the published list, which included 153 people from 60 countries, the names of artist Ekaterina Silina and writer Andrei Usachev also appeared.