“Planting the Seeds of Reading in Early Childhood” was the theme of the 6th National Children’s Reading Summit on March 17-18 2026 in Addis Ababa. The conference is going from strength to strength. Ethiopia Reads brought together the Ministry of Education, National Archive and Library Agency, Addis Ababa City Administration, educators, early childhood development experts, regional education officials, academic researchers, authors, illustrators, and literacy advocates for two days of substantive, nationally important conversations about improving children’s reading and literacy across Ethiopia.
When we planned the first Summit in 2019, a bold investment for a small organization, we were anxious that we might not fill the room. Government reading surveys indicated that over 60% of nine-year-old primary students were unable to read a single word in their own language. We felt compelled to bring that crisis into a national conversation. Six summits later, we are proud that the Children’s Reading Summit is now the leading professional conference in Ethiopia dedicated to children’s reading and literacy. We are no longer worried about filling the room.
This year, the Summit focused on early learning support delivered through the ambitious and integrated Addis Ababa Early Childhood Development (ECD) Program. In addition to providing health and nutrition support, expanded public childcare and preprimary schools, the ECD program promotes early learning and language development at home through storytelling, reading and song, empowering parents of young children to develop strong reading habits with their children.
