Bangkok's Book Expo, Book Festival opened

BANGKOK, October 17 (TNA) - The Book Expo Thailand & Book Festival for Young People 2018 has been inaugurated at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center in Bangkok, where people from all ages and walks of life, especially "bookworms", are welcome to visit. Education Minister Dr. Teerakiat Jareonsettasin presided over a ceremony to officially open the Book Expo Thailand, the 23rd of its kind, and the Book Festival for Young People, the 12th of its kind, to be held during October 17-28. Dr. Teerakiat said that the Thai government has a policy on promoting reading among people of all ages in the country and has included the policy in a master plan 2017-2021 on national cultural promotion for reading towards the learning Thai society. According to the education minister, the master plan is focused on four strategies, including promoting the reading behavior among people of all ages, facilitating people's access to reading, improving the learning quality and creating the learning environment. The minister acknowledged the annual book fairs show that reading remains an important activity in Thailand, as there are still a large number of publishers and readers of paper books although there are increasing electronic books (e-books) currently. The minister noted that the theme of the Book Expo Thailand & Book Festival for Young People 2018 is "oral reading", based on the fact that the oral reading promotes the exchange of opinions between readers and the louder the oral reading, the easier and better learning by heart for readers. Meanwhile, Suchada Sahasakul (สุชาดา สหัสกุล), President of the Publishers and Booksellers Association of Thailand (Pubat), stated that it is the first time that the two book fairs are organized at the same venue, where members of families of all ages and genders can go along at the same times. "There will be over one million books from nearly 380 publishing houses on public display at over 900 booths at the twin fairs, set on a vast space of over 20,000 square meters inside the main structure of the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center, from 10am to 9pm during the 12-day events and visitors are welcome to buy their chosen books at specially-offered prices", the Pubat president mentioned. According to the Pubat president, there will also be relevant exhibitions, one of which is an imagination of an innovative future library when there will be no longer paper-based books or other documents. Besides, there will be public speeches and forums organized as part of the ongoing book fairs and exhibitions. (TNA)