Read Hour will be returning for its third year in the UK this September, following a hugely successful campaign last year. The initiative, which is in collaboration with Moomin Characters, encourages people of all ages to set aside an hour to read on UN International Literacy Day.

This will be Moomin Characters’ final year sponsoring Read Hour in the UK. The sponsorship was undertaken as part of Moomin Characters’ long-term commitment to helping improve literacy worldwide via the Moomin ABC programme. Moomin Characters believes that:

“Being able to express yourself is one of the most important things in the world: it allows you to communicate your hopes and dreams, relate to others, engage with the big issues of our times, and create change.

To express yourself, you first need to learn to read and write.

Developing a love of words at a young age is proven to bring other benefits, too, like increased empathy and a greater understanding of different cultures and ways of life. Essentially, reading and writing broaden a young person’s horizon.”

Read Hour was originally launched by Finland’s Children and Youth Foundation. Its impact in the UK has been fantastic, with its inaugural year generating over 1.7 million UK social media impressions and 16 million worldwide. Last year went even further, with over 2.2 million UK social media impressions achieved and 32 UK partners including literacy organisations, publishers and bookshops, of which World Book Day is one.

Read Hour will once again be encouraging the UK’s schools, libraries, bookshops and the general public to take some time to read once more – whether it be a book, a magazine, or a comic, on September 8th.

Keep an eye on ReadHour.com where assets will soon be released with more details about events and other ways to take part in Read Hour 2023.

For more information, contact emily@riotcommunications.com.