In a large-scale project that united over 55,000 people, more than 300 educational organizations from 16 districts and 4 cities of the region took part.

In the Kostanay region, in honor of April 23 – the National Book Day, the results of the "Reading Nation" project were summarized, and the winners were solemnly awarded. The large-scale initiative, implemented in the region, involved 55,000 participants and turned into a major public movement popularizing reading culture.

Kostanay is a sacred land with deep educational traditions. It is the homeland where the founder of the first school in the Kazakh steppe, Ybyrai Altynsarin, and one of the founders of national spirituality, Akhmet Baitursynuly, left their mark. Within the framework of this historical continuity, the initiative of the Head of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to form a reading nation is being systematically implemented in the Kostanay region.

Speaking at the solemn ceremony, Akim of the region Kumar Aksakalov emphasized the importance of reading for the development of society:

"A reading person is always ahead thanks to their knowledge, distinguished by breadth of thinking and competitiveness in any environment. Our main goal is to educate youth not only as educated but also as deeply thinking and spiritually rich. This project is an important step on the path to forming an intellectual nation," noted the head of the region.

The event was also attended by the State Prize laureate, Honored Worker of Kazakhstan, Chairman of the TURKSOY Writers' Union Ulykbek Yesdaulet, who highly appreciated the spiritual significance of the project and the development of reading culture in the region.

The project covered 16 districts and 4 cities of the Kostanay region, uniting more than 300 educational organizations. In total, over 1,200 intellectual events (quizzes, debates, book discussions) were held. As a result, the number of library visitors and new readers increased significantly, indicating the formation of a sustainable reading culture in the region.

One of the key success factors of the project was the active participation of the teaching community. More than 11,000 teachers worked in close cooperation with libraries, systematically introducing students to reading and supporting the educational process. This significantly increased the level of children's involvement and formed an effective model of interaction "school – teacher – library".

More than 400 civil servants participated in the project. Despite their high workload, they showed a sustained interest in reading, noting its influence on broadening their horizons and improving the quality of decisions made. This indicates that reading culture is gradually taking root in the civil service system as well.

As a result of the project, the reading activity of participants increased severalfold. At the gala evening, the best participants were awarded diplomas and certificates worth 1 million, 600 thousand, and 400 thousand tenge. The total prize fund amounted to 40 million tenge.

The implementation of the large-scale project became possible thanks to the support of the "AMANAT" party and a major agro-industrial company of the region – "Olzha Agro" LLP. This partnership clearly demonstrates the shared responsibility of the state and business for the development of human capital in the region.

"Reading Nation" is not just a project, but a national movement turning knowledge and intellect into key values of society. The experience of the Kostanay region confirms that the idea of forming a reading nation is successfully being implemented in practice.

In the region, the "Reading Nation" project was implemented with the support of the "AMANAT" party and the "Olzha Agro" company.

Source : https://www.gov.kz/memleket/entities/kostanay/press/news/details/1207676?lang=kk