“the book is a teacher and guide for any person to understand life, the link between the present and the past, and between the present and the future.”



the late HRH Prince Mohammad bin King Faisal (I) of Iraq El-Hashemite

Founder, Royal Academy of Science International Trust



READ FOR KNOWLEDGE



Based on a Novel he wrote in 1970 “A Student Without A Book”, HRH Prince Mohammad bin King Faisal (I) of Iraq El-Hashemite, the Founder President of RASIT, established in 1972 “Read” as a main program of RASIT’s Education sector.


The “Read” Program aims to provide books and make it accessible for students and the public in developing countries through establishing or supporting libraries. In addition, through "Read" Program, RASIT supports writers and authors to write forms of literary books that it touches the society, and encouraged experts to translate books into different languages.


READ THE STORY

OUR IMPACT



For more than 55 years, we have been providing enormous services to make reading a book one of the fundamentals of human development programs



Libraries




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Publishing




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Capacity Development




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Translation




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Supporting Initiatives




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It is imperative that the advancement of literature and publishing of books must accompany the process of sustainable development in all its forms: cultural, political, economic, and social.



the late HRH Prince Mohammad bin King Faisal (I) of Iraq El-Hashemite

Founder, Royal Academy of Science International Trust



LIBRARIES



School libraries are the backbone of the primary education system. It is important to equip every school with a library because it helps every student, as well as staff, gain new knowledge, skills, and dispositions for learning and personal development that they will use throughout their lives.


Since the 1970 of the 20th Century, RASIT’s impact can be summarized as:

  • 39 Strategic Framework and Action Plans were especially designed for governments to establish Public Libraries. The 39 countries also received support from the late HRH Prince Mohammad bin King Faisal (I) of Iraq El-Hashemite, to build, furnished and equip libraries with books and required administrative machines and supplies.
  • 288 School Libraries were established in developing countries. Every library was furnitured and equipped with books, educational materials and equipment, administrative supplies and machines.
  • More than 2.5 million books were donated to enrich schools and public libraries in MENA Region, Africa, Latin America, and Asia.
  • RASIT fellow members, who specialized in internal designs and architecture, provided their expertise in designing 70 new libraries, and re-designing 116 libraries to make it accessible to individuals with disabilities.
  • Supporting 670 libraries with technology and equipment to digitalize books and make them accessible to a wider group of readers.
  • Provided 54 accessibility softwares to help blind enjoy reading.
  • RASIT provided the libraries of the National Universities of Iraq with more than 5,000 books, reference books, and periodicals.


CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT



The success of any library depends primarily on its employees, i.e. the Librarians. While some people think that a librarian is responsible only for overseeing the daily operations of a library, such as appraise, obtain, index, collate and make available library acquisitions and organize and control other library services, the big fact is that librarians have an important part to play in supporting education, research, training, and developing the knowledge economies of nations.


The biggest challenge in developing countries is qualified, trained, and competent librarians.


To meet this challenge, RASIT has provided 317 university scholarships for students from developing countries, and 165 capacity development scholarships for librarians mainly African countries.



TRANSLATION: BRIDGES CULTURES



Based on various studies conducted by HRH Prince Mohammad bin King Faisal (I) of Iraq, Language barriers that exist in science, innovation, and literature are one of the main reasons behind the increased gaps between societies, and they hinder international collaboration and increase inequality between countries.


It is important to note that over a third of new research and studies manuscripts published annually are in non-English languages, despite the assumption of English as a scientific ‘lingua franca’. Important knowledge and scientific innovations that could enrich socio-economic development programs are missed at the international level.


Therefore, RASIT has been encouraging and supporting translation initiatives as a process of achieving knowledge societies. The “Read” Program Translation initiative aims to build bridges of cooperation and partnership toward culture for peace.


Since the 1980s, RASIT has supported more than 1136 translations of literary books between Arabic, French, and English.



SUPPORTING COMMUNITY-LED INITIATIVES



Appreciating Teachers on their Day: 5 October


RASIT undertakes multiple approaches to effect long-term, sustainable change in society. One of the important approaches is supporting community-led initiatives, whether such initiatives were started to serve at the national or local level.


Based on HRH Prince Mohammad bin King Faisal (I) of Iraq El-Hashemite comprehensive social development study “The Phenomenon of Reluctance to Read”, the idea “Reading for All” initiative was born during the International Publishers Association conference held in London in 1991 with a main aim: to inspire the public to read.


The First Lady of Egypt, Mrs. Suzan Mubarak transformed the idea into a national festival. Since 1992, RASIT has been supporting Egypt's “Reading for All” Initiative in different ways, including books, the mobile library, and digitalization equipment.


Since the year 2000, The “Reading for All” initiative has expanded in different countries. RASIT continues its tradition of supporting literacy and knowledge societies in many countries, including Iraq, the United Kingdom, and cities in the USA. The kind of support varies from books to discussion seminars with authors.



THE STORY OF "READ"



Based on a Novel he wrote in 1970 “A Student Without A Book”, HRH Prince Mohammad bin King Faisal (I) of Iraq El-Hashemite, RASIT's Founder President, established “Read” as a main program of RASIT’s Education sector in 1972. The “Read” Program aims to provide books and make them accessible for students in developing countries by establishing or supporting libraries in every school or university.


The Program has expanded to support cities and governments to establish public libraries, providing books and training for library management personnel.


Noteworthy, in the 1970s of the 20th century, most of the developing countries received their independence or were going through its process after decades of colonization. Supporting such countries to build their nations based on education and knowledge was a priority for RASIT and its Founder President.


Throughout the 1970s, RASIT’s conducted a specially designed Strategic Framework and Action Plans for developing countries’ governments to establish school and public libraries. The implementation of such plans was in the form of building libraries and equipping them with furnishers, books, and required administrative equipment and supplies. In addition, RASIT donated thousands of books to enrich schools and public libraries in different parts of the world.


In 1980, Prince Mohammad bin King Faisal (I) of Iraq published a comprehensive study titled “The Free Time”, which focused on the impact of quick modernization and advancement in technologies on the psychology of people and as a result on their societies. The study indicated that although technological development has increased the welfare of society, human problems have been exacerbated with the increase in free time. Prince Mohammad revealed in his study that while technology advances at high speed, arts and literature are still not progressing to meet human needs and interests, which triggered reluctance to read.


Two years later, i.e., in 1982, Prince Mohammad published a social development book titled “The Phenomenon of Reluctance to Read”. As an educator, Prince Mohammad was keen on the advancement and development of society, deepening the concept of the reading process, and addressing the phenomenon of reluctance to read. In the Study, he raised many questions such as: "Do we really know how to read...? Are we good at reading? Why do we read...?"


The study defined the concepts of reading and how it “affects the mental and human behavior of the reader: it may become a means of development or destruction, with a positive or negative return.” Prince Mohammad clearly emphasized the importance of a book in human development: “The book is a teaching method and guide for any person to understand life, the link between the present and the past, and between the present and the future.”


As a result, Prince Mohammad established the “Read” Publication, which aimed to encourage writers and authors from developing countries particularly to write novels, poetry, science fiction, history, and other forms of literary books, that touches their society.


In addition, Prince Mohammad encouraged experts to translate books into different languages. The Published books were distributed to libraries worldwide.


“It is imperative that literature advancement and publishing books accompany the process of sustainable development in all its forms: cultural, political, economic and social”, Prince Mohammad wrote.


RASIT has provided support to authors and translators and published their books. In addition, RASIT provided capacity building and development courses for librarian in developing countries.


The journey of “READ” Programs has continued, as RASIT’s Founder President played a major role in supporting and assisting newly formed governments to establish ministries of culture and education. He further worked with countries and supported the establishment of national publishing authorities, which aims to encourage national authors and translators.


Throughout the years, RASIT collaborated with publishers and supported local and national initiatives worldwide, especially by making books accessible for everyone to read.




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