Andorra Hosts First FLOC Youth Reading Festival for 600 Pupils

Around 600 pupils attended Andorra's first FLOC children's and youth reading festival at the Prat del Roure in Escaldes-Engordany, in a day-long programme combining activities for schoolchildren, teachers and families to encourage reading habits.

The event, held the previous day, brought together pupils, teachers and families alongside literary awards for participating schools and meetings with organisations from the book sector, according to the Diari d'Andorra. The government said the programme included training sessions for teachers and proposals open to families and the wider public, as well as meeting spaces for organisations connected to the book world, uniting pupils, teachers, families, libraries, booksellers and publishing professionals in one venue.

Speaking at the festival, Institutional Relations, Education and Universities Minister Ladislau Baró stressed the importance of reading for strengthening critical thinking among students. He argued that reading habits need to be built from the earliest stages of education and sustained beyond the classroom, and highlighted the challenge posed by the growing volume of content and new communication formats.

"A reading citizenry is a better-educated citizenry, with critical spirit and a greater ability to distinguish information from opinion and to make decisions autonomously," Baró said.

The festival continues the 2021-2025 school reading-promotion plan and seeks to promote reading both as a learning tool and as a cultural and leisure activity. In the afternoon, pupils and schools were recognised with the WhatsApp Relats, Què llegeixo?, +Lectors, Les set claus and Relats de la Vall del Madriu-Perafita-Claror awards.

Baró has also linked the initiative to efforts to strengthen Catalan, following the results of a survey on the language's use, saying FLOC should contribute to that goal and that the government intends to give it significant support. He has said the Education Ministry is working to encourage everyday use of the language in spaces such as school canteens and leisure activities, in coordination with the Culture Ministry, and has described digital habits as one of the main challenges facing education — arguing that reading has not disappeared but changed form, with screens encouraging shorter and less sophisticated texts.