Parents and guardians must encourage their children to deeply engage with and carefully evaluate what they are reading, says First Lady Fazna Ahmed.

Speaking at the ceremony to inaugurate the “Let's Read” program for children at the Maldives National University (MNU), Fazna stated that critical reading helps readers to understand the authors’ point of view.

Shedding light on the importance of teaching the younger generations to practice open-mindedness, the First Lady stressed that it is imperative that children learn how to liberate themselves from personal bias.

Further, she highlighted that critical reading also allows children to enrich their minds through inclusive understands of ideas and debates featured in the books they read. It is also a valuable life skill to understand different viewpoints and welcome different ideas before reaching conclusions.

Fazna went on to urge parents, guardians and teachers to encourage children to read, learn and grow.

The “Let’s Read” program is an initiative of the Asia foundation, to whom First Lady Fazna extended gratitude for their initiative to archive a digital library of children’s books of the local “Dhivehi” language while keeping in mind to foster a sustainable network of authors and translators who are committed to create meaningful reading opportunities.

It was initiated with the joint partnership from MNU, National Institute of Education, Dhivehi Bahuge Academy and the National Library.