Jointly organized by the Cultural Affairs Bureau (IC), the Education and Youth Development Bureau (DSEDJ), the University of Macau Library and the Macao Library and Information Management Association, the “Macao Library Week 2021” is held from 12 April to 16 May. The opening ceremony was held on the “World Book Day”, 23 April (Friday), at the Old Court Building, followed by the activities “4.23 Reading in the City” and “Thirty Minutes Read in Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao” 2021, organized and co-organized by the respective entities. The President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Mok Ian Ian, one of the reading leaders, led the participants to read and shared her reading experiences during the event, and with multiple N venues and “Reading Points”, all participants can read in the same time, imbuing the city with the spirit of reading.
The ceremony was officiated by the President of Cultural Affairs Bureau, Mok Ian Ian; the Representative of the Department of Publicity and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the Macao SAR, Lei Ka Ian; the Head of the Department of Non-tertiary Education of the Education and Youth Development Bureau, Wong Ka Ki; the Librarian of the University of Macau, Wu Jianzhong; and the President of the Macao Library and Information Management Association, Wong Kwok Keung, as well as representatives of various libraries in Macao.
The “World Book Day” was designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on 23 April 1995, and various events will take place around the world. The activity “4.23 Reading in the City” aims to encourage all Macao citizens to read together. This year, the President of the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Mok Ian Ian, the Director of the Education and Youth Development Bureau, Lou Pak Sang, a volunteer from the Macao Public Library, Chan Wing, and a second grade student of Primary School, Ip Sam Iao, are invited to serve as reading leaders of the event, introducing excellent books to the public through video, including “Like the Dyer’s Hand”, which shows the epitome of the life pursuit of Ye Jiaying, the master of classical literature and poetry, “Family Letters of Zen Guofan”, which presents the perceptions of the Qing dynasty statesman, “The Wandering Earth”, a science fiction novel that won several major literary awards, and “17 Emotions of Philip”, which helps children recognize and express their feelings. At the main venue, Mok Ian Ian read the selected books with the participants and shared her thoughts about the books and reading perception.
In addition to the reading sessions in the main venue and N venues, the organizers promoted “reading points” throughout the city, which received responses from 50 schools and communities to organize various forms of reading events on the “World Book Day”, resulting in the participation of over 15,000 people. Meanwhile, through the online linkage with Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Dongguan, Hong Kong, and other cities, numerous activities are linked to a reading platform, presenting the beauty of books to the Greater Bay Area of Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao.
A number of activities on the “Macao Library Week” promotional days will be held on 24 and 25 April, at the Old Court Building. The activity “Book Exchange” received an enthusiastic response from the public, with over 17,000 books collected. This year, a booth for “Book Exchange” will be set up at Seac Pai Van Library during the promotional days, allowing the public to exchange their favourite books. On April 24, nearly 600 overdue periodicals will be available for purchase at the “Periodicals Sale”, while the remaining overdue periodicals will be available for free in the “Book Crossing” activity on the following day.
In order to prevent epidemic, crowd control measures will be implemented. If the venue exceeds its full capacity, residents are advised to queue outside the entrance as directed by the staff; participants who have already been admitted to the workshop can register for entry with the staff. All participants must wear face masks, undergo body temperature checks and present a “Macao Health Code” of the day to the on-site staff. For enquiries, please contact the Macao Public Library counter through tel. no. 2893 0077 or 2856 7576 during office hours, or visit the Macao Public Library website at www.library.gov.mo.