How do you feel about reading? Laysh: to read or not to read is a new initiative that is asking people in Qatar and abroad to upload a 1-2 minute video about their relationship with reading.

The campaign, which means “why” in Arabic, is being launched by TEDxYouth@Doha and Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, in hopes of starting a conversation about a subject that not many people give a lot of thought.

Like many countries in the Middle East, Qatar does not boast a reading culture. According to a report by the Childhood Cultural Center, more than 30 percent of Qatari children say they don’t have time to read, while 26 percent complain about not having access to books of their interest.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9f1DvLXLe7k]

And though Qatar has among the highest literacy rates in the region, educators say a scarcity of libraries make inculcating a reading culture difficult.

So whether you love books, or don’t, keep the conversation going. Laysh encourages video submissions in English or Arabic and the person submitting the video doesn’t have to appear on camera.

More information can be found here.

Thoughts?

Credit: Photo by Hishaam Siddiqi