Grameenphone and BSK: Nurturing the habit of reading

Grameenphone has recently renewed an agreement with Bishwo Shahitto Kendro (BSK), to continue encouraging the habit of reading-among young children. This agreement will support the prize-giving ceremonies of Book Reading Program in Dhaka, Chattogram, Barishal, Rajshahi, and Khulna.

Grameenphone has been a partner of BSK since 2004. Every year, approximately 200,000 students participate in the Book Reading Program, and over 20,000 students receive prizes for demonstrating their reading habits. Through this agreement, Grameenphone will be sponsoring the prize-giving ceremony along with the awarded books. The company will provide 30,000 books for the 20,000 winners, along with stickers, bookmarks, and other tokens to the winners during the prize-giving ceremony.

At the signing ceremony, Yasir Azman, CEO, Grameenphone said, “Book reading habits can empower children and thus enlighten a generation. Grameenphone is happy to be part of this noble cause and nation-building movement for more than 16 years. Being a former student of BSK, I feel a strong association with this journey of enlightenment. I hope this book reading movement will reach the remote most corner of Bangladesh and contribute to reducing inequalities through empowerment.”

Professor Abdullah Abu Sayeed, Chairman, Bishwo Shahitto Kendro, added, “In the world today, where information is abundant, reading books, is one of the best ways to be informed. It develops our thoughts, gives us endless knowledge, and enhances our imagination. Hence, we want to spread the ability to read throughout the entire country. By collaborating with Grameenphone, we will be able to spread the access of books nationwide. This initiative will empower and encourage children to read more books.”

In 2014, Grameenphone and BSK also launched a digital library, named Alorpathshala (School of Enlightenment) which provides free reading and download access to books. The library has more than 500 books. Till date, over 1.5 million books have been downloaded from www.alorpathshala.org

About Grameenphone Ltd.

Grameenphone, part of the Telenor Group, is a leading telecommunications service provider in Bangladesh with more than 76 million subscribers. Since its inception in 1997, Grameenphone has built the largest cellular network in the country, covering nearly 95 percent of the country’s population. With its brand promise to enable customers to “Go beyond”, Grameenphone seeks to help customers get the full benefit of mobile data and voice services and provide Internet For All. Grameenphone is listed on the Dhaka Stock Exchange.  www.grameenphone.com:  www.facebook.com/grameenphone