Starting in 2014, the Catholic University launched the project “Building a future through books” (“Bibliotecas Escolares Futuro”). The libraries created by this project are located inside the University’s campuses and in associated centers. The project was set up with the aim of fostering reading by attracting students and teachers from neighboring schools, located in underprivileged areas, to utilize specially designed spaces within the University’s libraries. Satellite libraries have also been opened in a local women’s prison and a juvenile detention center, thus addressing a particularly vulnerable audience.
The project has developed quickly and there are now eleven libraries with these special spaces throughout the country. They have a reach of up to 65,000 students and 10,000 teachers and the aim is to get to a total of 14 libraries with spaces like these catering to 100,000 students by 2016.
The project has proved to be very popular among both students and teachers. Faced with the reality of an increasingly globalized world in which the English language constitutes a crucial tool, the libraries are now being equipped with books and materials to facilitate the learning of English.
Through this initiative, known as the English Corner Project, each library will be equipped with English materials freely accessible to the children and teenagers of the community. The aim is to turn English into a more accessible and attractive language for students who wish to learn more outside the classroom.
For many of these students, the project will represent their first interaction with the English culture and literature. For these reasons, the English Corner will also include work guides to make navigating the resources easier. Some of the material on offer will include books with explanatory notes, multimedia resources, movies and videos.
We invite you to donate to Friends, for the English Corner Project:
All donors will be informed about the advances of the Project and also about the funds collected for its implementation. They will also be invited to be part of “Friends of Friends”.
