Happy Birthday, BERLINER LESEPATEN!

Ceremony at the Rotes Rathaus - our educational project celebrates its 20th anniversary

It is a beacon of civic engagement - and probably the largest reading promotion project of its kind in Germany: the BERLINER LESEPATEN of the VBKI are celebrating their 20th anniversary! Since 2005, they have been inspiring children and young people in the capital to enjoy reading. Over 10,000 volunteers have been involved since then - currently around 2,000 reading mentors are involved every week.

On the occasion of the founding anniversary, Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner paid tribute to the project at a ceremony in the Rotes Rathaus on Wednesday evening: "All children and young people in Berlin have the right to a good education. With the founding of BERLINER LESEPATEN 20 years ago, the VBKI has helped to ensure that girls and boys are not left behind, but experience the joy of reading. I would like to thank the many volunteers who are still involved as reading mentors today. They strengthen our children and young people, they strengthen Berlin and social cohesion. On behalf of the entire Berlin Senate, I would like to express my sincere thanks."

VBKI President Markus Voigt thanked the many committed people from voluntary work, schools and the circle of supporters who have been writing the BERLINER LESEPATEN success story for 20 years: "By giving attention, trust and time to less privileged children and young people in particular, they make an important contribution to greater educational equality and make our city a little more liveable and lovable every day. This deserves the greatest respect and is an example of social responsibility in action in Berlin."

The concept of the educational project is simple - and effective: In close coordination with teachers, the volunteers promote language and reading-related skills individually or in small groups. At nurseries, the focus is on playful storytelling and reading aloud in preparation for starting school, while at schools the focus is on individual reading promotion. The results are impressive: the reading mentors have provided around five million additional hours of support over the last two decades - a strong testament to the effectiveness of volunteer work in Berlin.

The origins of the project are closely linked to the name Sybille Volkholz. The education expert launched BERLINER LESEPATEN in 2005 as a citizens' network for education and managed it for many years. According to Voigt, it is thanks to her that "an idea became a successful model that is now unparalleled throughout Germany". With the BERLINER LESEPATEN , we have been demonstrating for 20 years now how entrepreneurial commitment and social responsibility can successfully go hand in hand - for the benefit of the next generation.