This is a press release of the launching of the Basadours’ Project I Love to Read MORE! The launching was held last June 28, 2014 at the Cebu City Public Library.
CEBU CITY – The Basadours – a group of volunteer storytellers and reading advocates – recently launched Project I Love to Read MORE (Moving Onward to Reading Empowerment) in a bid to further spread the love of reading through storytelling in Cebu and neighboring Visayan provinces.
Basadours chairperson Cris Evert L. Ruffolo said this is to continue the I Love to Read Project, the group’s first step in reviving the love of reading in the form of storytelling sessions.
“Raising awareness about the importance of reading is an ongoing process. We should never stop. We continue to be outspoken about the relevance of building a reading culture because that’s a necessary step in making informed citizens,” said Ruffolo at the sidelines of the project launching last June 28.
Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella and Councilor Noel Wenceslao attended the launching who both expressed their support in the group and the reading/storytelling advocacy.
Organized in February 2012, the Basadours has organized and participated in more than 40 storytelling sessions around Cebu, Bohol, Negros, and Iloilo.
With Project I Love to Read MORE, Ruffolo said they aim to double the number of these storytelling sessions by encouraging communities and villages to organize their own sessions.
To make this possible, the group crafted the Basadours’ Storytelling Guide, a comprehensive guide in organizing, hosting, and conducting storytelling sessions. It also contains a book directory that details children’s storybooks written by Filipino authors.
To support the project, storytelling sessions were also organized by Small Wonders Academic Center, San Antonio Institute of Learning, University of San Carlos through its Library System, University of San Jose Recoletos instructor/librarian John Louie Zabala and students, Calape Elementary School (Daanbantayan, Cebu), and Rhonette Abatayo of Discovery Camp (Toddler Circus Class).
The Basadours continues to work hand in hand with the Cebu City Public Library (CCP) to make the library a living venue for learning and sharing information. Monthly storytelling sessions are conducted by the Basadours at the CCPL.
Interested to organize your own storytelling session or partner with the Basadours? Visit www.basadours.org or www.facebook.com/Basadours. You may also reach the Basadours at 09173278973 or email: thebasadours@gmail.com.
