Children’s opinions included in storybook-making process

Tivea Koam, Head of Corporate Affairs at Smart Axiata speaks at the BookLab workshop. Supplied

Consumption of e-learning resources has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in Cambodia and worldwide. The Asia Foundation hosted its ninth BookLab (book creation event) in Cambodia to produce 10 new children’s e-storybooks for its digital library Let’s Read, by taking further inclusive steps in the process of storybook-making pre and post BookLab.

The two-day BookLab was hosted by Meloney C Lindberg, country representative of the Asia Foundation in Cambodia, and Tivea Koam, Head of Corporate Affairs at Smart Axiata.

Meloney Lindberg highlights that “the stories for this bookmaking event centre around families, communities and friendship. In this BookLab, the foundation has embarked on a new approach in making children’s storybooks by asking children early in the story development process what interests them most. I hope by collecting their ideas and working with writers that this will lead to children’s increased interest in reading.

The Asia Foundation worked with ChildFund Cambodia to create a forum for writers to engage and learn from children and get input for story writing. The same style of forum will be created after the BookLab before the books are finalised.

Prashant Verma, Country Director of ChildFund Cambodia, stated: “It’s often heard that Cambodian children don’t like reading. This is an absurd assumption. As children are the real judge of which books they enjoy reading, consulting girls and boys ensures that educational development agencies are able to produce a variety of cultural, age, and interest-appropriate reading resources. We believe that there is a direct correlation between access to quality books, enjoyment of reading and increased reading performance.”

Let’s Read is supported by Smart Axiata, Cambodia’s leading mobile telecommunications operator, through the company’s long-term partnership with The Asia Foundation. Koam remarks that “incorporating children’s thoughts in the BookLab definitely brings books’ quality to the next level. I hope that students will be able to enjoy the books that have voiced their opinions and dreams especially during COVID-19 pandemic, as e-books are even more relevant and helpful to their reading and learning process. Smart has been committed to elevating the digital learning experience in Cambodia.”

During the pandemic, the Asia Foundation, with support from Smart Axiata, organised two children’s storybook virtual translation sprints in June and July where more than 170 volunteers and language editors joined forces to translate and edit 60 children’s storybooks from English to Khmer.

“We are very fortunate to have received a good pool of volunteer applicants to help us translate the stories from English to Khmer. With their support, 60 children’s storybooks in Khmer have been added into the library”, said Lindberg.

The Let’s Read Digital Library has over 400 books in Khmer and hosts nearly 5,000 free digital children’s storybooks in 37 different languages. The library takes advantage of the rapidly growing popularity of smartphones and it is available online and on Google Play. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Let’s Read has experienced increased access and use of the library among the public.

Let’s Read is a rapidly growing initiative of The Asia Foundation. The programme draws on the development organisation’s 18 offices in the region and deep local ties to build an unprecedented digital library of local language children’s books. Stories in the library explore topics such as environmental stewardship, diversity, tolerance, gender, and STEM. The programmes nurtures reading habits that help children, their families, and their communities thrive while cultivating sustainable networks of book creators and translators who are committed to a future filled with children’s books.

The Asia Foundation is a nonprofit international development organisation committed to improving lives across a dynamic and developing Asia. Informed by six decades of experience and deep local expertise, its work across the region addresses five overarching goals–strengthen governance, empower women, expand economic opportunity, increase environmental resilience, and promote international cooperation.

Credited: Khmer Times