Closely linked to the products and services provided is the spread of the culture and promotion of reading, which underlie the very mission of the Mondadori Group. These objectives not only form the basis of the company’s economic activities but also pervade the same logics of offer creation. As a result, they give shape to a great many initiatives, generally sector-specific or 160 specific to the Group, which aim to bring a wider and wider audience closer to reading and information.
- the “Gli scrittori fanno scuola” (The writers do school) offers primary and middle school students video meetings with the authors, thanks to the collaboration with Il Battello a Vapore and Mondadori – Libri per Ragazzi. The project allows children and teenagers to choose a narrative book from those proposed and, once reading is complete, to meet the author in person or over the internet, to compare notes on the topics that most struck and interested them.
- In 2022, the Focus Junior Academy was confirmed, the media education initiative designed and run by Focus Junior in collaboration with the other Focus world brands (Focus, Focus Storia and Focus Scuola), to introduce children and teenagers to the world of publishing and journalism. Just like in the previous edition, the heart of the activity was the 2030 UN Agenda goals. Through a rich programme of monthly webinars, the younger members of society approached scientific and historical popularisation with discussions on topical matters like the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems, the production and distribution of energy and climate change.
- The “Alunni in libreria” (Students in the bookshop) initiative also continued, which has been putting Mondadori bookstores in contact with schools for more than twenty years now, with the aim of encouraging students to read as well as sensitising and stimulating them in respect of environmental matters, multiculturalism and inclusion. The programme, proposed by the Mondadori Stores to primary, middle and secondary schools, included meetings, laboratories and expressive activities.
- This initiative includes the project “Scrittori in classe” (Writers in the class), which involved the Mondadori stores in a partnership with the Mondadori Ragazzi area brands, Rizzoli, Fabbri, Piemme, which make available a selection of authors available to meet on-line and in person at the first, middle and secondary schools. It is a training path that gives the students the chance to take part in an important moment of cultural enrichment and dialogue, with the aim of enhancing the importance of reading and critical analysis of the text and investigating the topics discussed by the book.
Content accessibility
Furthermore specific digital projects were launched to increase the accessibility of the Group’s content.
With the series Il Battello a Vapore and through the high readability books, the Mondadori and Piemme publishing houses propose a project suitable not only for those with specific learning disorders but also for all children generally finding it difficult to approach and appreciate reading. High readability books are intended for the age bracket of 6-10 years old. They are not texts with simplified contents but rather books for everyone, with graphic characteristics and layouts that foster readability and therefore make them accessible even to children with SLDs and SENs.
The Group also continues to produce its accessible eBooks in line with the new regulations on the matter and in particular the European Accessibility act and certified by the LIA Foundation. Under this scope, a project has also been developed involving the creation of an accessible eBook with the involvement of the author Willy Guasti for the book Il coccodrillo ha il cuore tenero, published by Rizzoli.
Again under the scope of EAA regulations, a test project has been launched with one of the key digital customers for the display and recognition of accessible contents in a userfriendly format. The project will continue for the whole of 2023.
At the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, the Digital Sales team played a lead role in an event dedicated to accessibility, describing the Mondadori experience and sharing best practices in the production of accessible eBooks.