A READING tracker that can be pinned to fridges or walls to help encourage Islanders to pledge ten minutes a day to reading has been published by the Jersey Evening Post as part of a new Islandwide campaign launched in partnership with Every Child Our Future.
The Big Jersey Read is a year-long initiative designed to help children and adults alike rebuild a reading habit – shifting focus away from endless scrolling and towards deeper, more meaningful engagement with books, newspapers and magazines.
The JEP has published a pull-out reading tracker that will allow families and individuals to record their progress and turn reading into a visible, shared habit at home.
The February and March tracker was first published in the newspaper on Thursday 12 February, but is now also available online to download as PDF.
The campaign marks ECOF’s tenth anniversary and comes amid growing concern about literacy and access to books in Jersey.
Research by the charity shows that a quarter of children do not own a single book, while children eligible for the Jersey Premium are 15-20% less likely to meet age-related expectations.
Chief executive Cris Lakeman said: “Reading impacts not just on academic outcomes, but your wellbeing and your mental health – and that’s currently in crisis for teenagers.
“Reading is not the cure for all but one of the things that definitely helps.”
The campaign will also span other brands under the All Island Media umbrella, including leading business magazine Connect, Bailiwick Podcasts, and our social channels.
JEP editor and AIM chief executive James Filleul said: “Essentially, the Big Jersey Read is about scrolling less, and reading more.
“The experts will tell us that reading – whether that’s a book, a newspaper or an online article – helps us understand context, depth and nuance as well as supporting critical thinking and imagination, and appreciating that multiple perspectives can be ‘true’ at the same time.
“I think we know all that; but it’s all too easy to get drawn into forgetting it, sucked into the pace of modern information flows, with our attention shifting by the second.
“That’s the core reason we’re supporting this campaign: it’s really a reminder to step back once in a while, and take it all in. That’s vital for adults and children alike.”
You can download your reading tracker below:
