Premier Jennifer Smith has designated this Thursday as DEAR day -- Drop Everything And Read.

Schools, businesses, unions, and community groups throughout the Island will participate in this campaign to read for at least ten minutes as part of the ongoing activities of the National Literacy Initiative.

The Premier launched the initiative in September and is encouraging everyone in Bermuda to dedicate the day to reading.

She said: "The Government of Bermuda understands that reading is a key component of literacy, and I encourage everyone to stop whatever you are doing and read silently for ten minutes. You may wish to read to each other, to a child or senior citizen. However you choose to do it, make the ten minutes your own. Simply drop everything and read.'' The cornerstone of the Premier's National Literacy Initiative will be a survey on literacy early next year to measure the standard of literacy among Bermuda's adult population.

This will produce data that will serve as a benchmark against which to measure the progress and success of future literacy programmes.

The international Adult Literacy and Life Skills Survey is an extensive project for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and Bermuda joins 20 participating countries including the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.

The Premier said: "This initiative will reach out into the community and ensure that we do our best to prevent people from falling through the cracks and depriving them of the opportunity to lead fulfilling lives.'' She added: "I am hoping that Island-wide participation in Drop Everything And Read Day on Thursday will help generate a lasting passion for reading among Bermuda's adults from all walks of life.'' The National Literacy initiative also includes a series of posters featuring original art by local artists.

The posters highlight different aspects of reading and are distributed every month in the newspapers.

EDUCATION ED