araw ng pag(b)asa 2020

To champion the importance of literacy, this year, Kaya Natin will hold the Araw ng Pag(b)asa Writing Contest, open to writers of all ages with targeted readers of 8-15 years old. The said celebration has been authored by our very own Board Member and Kaya Natin! Champion, Hon. Jorge “Bolet” Banal way back in 2009. This feat gave birth to its declaration as the culminating activity of the National Reading Month, held every November each year. Not only that, but the city-wide advocacy of Hon. Banal was recognized as a nation-wide campaign in championing literacy when President Noynoy Aquino signed Republic Act 10556 or the “Araw ng Pagbasa Act” in 2013.

Indeed, anyone who is committed to the love of reading and spreading hope to our country can turn Araw ng Pagbasa into a relevant and effective movement. To sustain this advocacy, during the previous years, Kaya Natin held storytelling sessions. However, this unforeseen pandemic calls for a different path. This year, instead of the usual storytelling sessions, Kaya Natin opts to choose a tangible and long-term focused project. Thus, the creation of the Araw ng Pagbasa Writing Contest.

We are happy to share that we have gathered more than 150+ entries for both our short story and comics category. Writers and artists as far as Cebu, Northern Samar, to Negros Occidental participated. And have been joined by as young as 11 years old and our oldest entry writer of 50 years old. Truly, the passion for reading knows no age.