May / June 2002 Vol. 34, no. 3

Forum Youth Advisory Committee Meets at NLC

In the same week as the Forum launch, members of the Youth Advisory Committee met at the National Library of Canada around a pizza. Talk turned to reading and the promotion of books. There was no shortage of ideas.

From the 8-11 year-olds

• autograph sessions and meeting authors
• competitions (for instance, asking young people what kind of books they read, reading books written by Canadian authors and choosing the best one, comic strip competitions, poetry competitions)
• Story Time by an author
• reading club exhibits
• you read, you win a prize
• story-writing club
• young people from all over Canada write stories, then publish a book
• critiquing stories (the art of story telling)
• promoting books at school, etc.

Suggestions from the 12-16 year-olds

• literary prizes awarded by young people
• building collections of bookmarks, cards (authors/illustrators)
• creating practical workshops (music, illustrations, books, publishing, plays, poetry books)
• staging a play on a known theme
• publishing a collective book by young people
• meeting authors
• creating a story competition for children
• hosting a quiz on literature
• organizing a guided tour of the National Library of Canada
• organizing a reading marathon
• organizing a drawing contest for the cover of the collective book
• how a book is made
• local writers’ biographies
• proposing book titles for the Forum site
• gift certificates from bookstores
• plaques for the winners
• organizing workshops and book readings for people who have difficulty reading
• sending documentation to teachers
• reading/writing competitions in libraries/schools, etc.

This advisory group has been set up to inform the National Library of Canada on the needs and aspirations of young people concerning reading, literature, arts and culture. Its duties involve suggesting the names of young artists, speakers and other potential participants to the Forum, maintaining connections with young people and promoting the Forum and similar activities for the young Canadians.