Vienna celebrates the educational heroes: Thanks to the readers!

Vienna celebrates the educational heroes: Thanks to the readers!

On May 21, 2025, a thank you in Vienna's town hall in honor of the more than 600 voluntary reading goddesses, who have been supporting children in elementary schools and middle schools for more than a decade. Elisabeth Fuchs, the educational director for Vienna, honored the commitment of this "educational hero of everyday life" and emphasized the importance of direct feedback, praise and recognition that the children receive during the reading times. The expansion of the project is particularly gratifying: Around 1,400 reading sponsors are currently committed to reading in Vienna, whereby the program has also been extended to the kindergartens.

expansion of the initiative

At the festival, new reading pats with various first language were also sought, especially in the languages of Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Turkish and Ukrainian. The volunteers attend a school once a week and practice for 50 minutes with 2 to 4 children each. Interested parties can contact 0664/819 87 71 or by email to lesepaten@bildung-wien.gv.at in order to become part of the program. Further information is available on the website of the Education Directorate for Vienna. This initiative is an essential example of how education can be enriched by volunteering.

The promotion of reading skills is not only important for the development of children, but also contributes to social integration. A critical handling of information and media literacy are essential these days. According to the bpb, media literacy not only includes knowledge of the media, but also promotes self-determined action in a medialized world. Digital media are becoming increasingly important in the educational landscape.

meaning of media literacy

In today's society, it is a matter of course for children and adolescents to deal with the media. Nevertheless, a high degree of media literacy is required for dealing with it. The Federal Ministry for Family, Seniors, Women and Youth promotes various projects to strengthen the media literacy of parents and specialists. The aim of these initiatives is the combination of protection against endangering content and the promotion of own media use.

Programs such as "Good growing up with media" and "Look down!" offer parents and legal guardians important information about digital media. Through recommendations for action to TV, Internet and social networks, parents should be made sensitive to the opportunities and risks that the digital world brings with it. The experience in reading sponsorship training is extremely valuable in this context, since they also promote the cooperation between volunteers and child protection.

Overall, it can be seen that the close linking of education, media literacy and social engagement plays a key role in the development of young people. The volunteer reading sponsors are not only very practical support for children, but also role models that help children become self -confident and competent media users.