At the 9th Hanoi Book Fair in 2024, more than 16,000 books and school supplies were collected through a donation program organized by publishers and distributors. These items will be donated to school libraries and students in the suburbs of Hanoi affected by the recent floods.

Visitors at the 9th Hanoi Book Fair. Photo: Tuyen Linh/The Hanoi Times

The 9th Hanoi Book Fair in 2024, themed “Hanoi: The Capital of Culture and Heroism - A City of Peace,” took place from September 27 to 29 at the pedestrian area around Hoan Kiem Lake. The event became a cultural rendezvous for book lovers, promoting and enhancing reading culture among a broad audience at home and abroad.

Beyond spreading the powerful message of reading culture, the organizing committee of the 9th Hanoi Book Fair launched a campaign to collect books to support schools in the suburban districts of Hanoi that were severely affected by the recent floods. This initiative has a significant impact on the community.

Numerous publishing houses joined the effort, providing valuable gifts of knowledge to students in the affected regions. In addition to providing students with more reading materials, this effort helps restore their learning environment, instill a love for reading, and motivate them to overcome difficulties.

According to the organizers, 24 publishing units participated in the 2024 Hanoi Book Fair, with local publishers actively contributing a total of 16,000 books, notebooks, and various learning materials.

Among these contributions, over 5,000 children's books and stories were carefully selected and donated by Kim Dong Publishing House. In support of this initiative, Vietnam Education Publishing House and AES Educational Technology Joint Stock Company donated 2,000 textbooks.

Additionally, several local publishers and bookstores provided support in other ways. In addition to book donations, Inbook - The World of Foreign Books (a subsidiary of Vietnam Book and Newspaper Import-Export Company - Xunhasaba) implemented a program to donate 1% of each customer's invoice value to support library collections for schools affected by the floods.

The collected books, notebooks, and educational materials will be received, sorted, and distributed to the affected schools by the Hanoi Department of Information and Communications in coordination with the Hanoi Department of Education and Training and the Hanoi Youth Union.