Navid-e-Vahy, the Second Child-centered Library in Qeshm Island

A Valuable Step for making Qeshm an Island for Children
In Spring 2019, the establishment of “Navid-e-Vahy” Child-centered Library in Dargahan, introduced another stage of the Read with Me program in Qeshm Island. This child-centered library was opened on 13 June 2019 inside a cultural complex in Dargahan. Read with Me experts believe this library to become among the most active, with many children and young adults benefiting from its facilities.

Authorities, children and their families participated in the opening ceremony of this beautiful library. Complex manager and “Qeshm, an Island for Children” project director gave speeches about the standards of a child-centered library and how this library was set up. They also talked about the future plans of the complex.

The presence of children, the sparkle in their eyes and their smiles foretold the library’s joyful moments to come.
At the end of the ceremony, children recited “The Reader’s Oath” as a symbolic gesture and signed under a banner as to promise they would accompany the Read with Me program.

How was Navid-e-Vahy Child-centered Library Set Up?
Read with Me first set foot in Qeshm Island for holding Reading Aloud workshops in the Mother, Child and Adolescent Library of Salakh. By equipping the library with quality books and designing the library space based on the standards of a child-centered library, “Read with Me” ensured a dynamic and rich literacy environment, full of joy, in this beautiful yet deprived southern island. The Mother, Child and Adolescent Library of Salakh has now more than 600 members which has had enormous influence in the growth of children from Salakh and nearby villages. Salakh was proposed to become the capital of culture in Qeshm. The library along with its activities was a determining factor in this proposition.
Discovering the success of the Read with Me program in Salakh library, a socially and culturally active local couple spontaneously decided to promote the program in the island. By keeping contact with the Read with Me coordinators, they proposed to implement the program more extensively.
In 2018, Iconish company expressed willingness in supporting the establishment of a Read with Me library. Thereupon, in April 2019, a Read with Me team of experts travelled to Qeshm, evaluated the conditions of Dargahan and its nearby villages and so a second child-centered library was set up in Qeshm.

Navid-e-Vahy Child-centered Library was then equipped with more than 1000 children and young adult books with a number of them specific to adults, librarians and teachers in order to strengthen their skills in working with children and young adults.
Library Preparation Photos:

In addition to lending books to children and holding Reading Aloud sessions in the library, teachers and promoters can visit Navid-e-Vahy Child-centered Library to borrow quality books and read-aloud to their students. To make this happen, Read with Me held a number of workshops in May 2019 for 50 librarians, teachers and promoters from Qeshm Island.