Welcome to Action Education Switzerland
The Read-A-Thon
A literary challenge to raise awareness of international solidarity
The Read-A-Thon is an event designed to raise children's awareness of international solidarity, while at the same time stimulating a love of reading.
This awareness-raising mission is an integral part of our commitment to inclusive and equitable education, opening up dialogue and awakening the curiosity of young people. Our teams work with schools to raise awareness of international solidarity. We visit schools to make young people aware of the inequalities in access to education around the world, the challenges faced by many children and the solutions being implemented to overcome them.
During the Read-A-Thon, children are invited to read as many books as they can over a given period of time from a selection made by their teachers, according to their own discretion.
The Read-A-Thon benefits children in Switzerland and in the field. The children's reading efforts provide a lever for raising funds for the children supported by our projects.
Discover our magazine dedicated to the Read-A-Thon:
Additional devices
The above is the backbone of a Read-A-Thon.
There are other possible avenues. The schemes presented below are designed to show you that there is a wide range of possibilities.
Linking students in Switzerland with students in Benin, Togo and Senegal
A series of meetings is being organised between :
- a class in Switzerland and a class in Senegal,
- a class in Switzerland and a class in Togo,
- a class in Switzerland and a class in Benin.
The first meeting allows children to meet, introduce themselves and talk about their daily lives as pupils and their relationship with reading. Pupils from both classes take it in turns to come up to the blackboard and ask their counterparts questions.
The second meeting provides an opportunity to get to know each other better, to go into more depth on the subjects discussed during the first meeting and to ask any questions that could not be asked during the first meeting.
An event to promote the pleasure of reading
The educational work proposed by the school as part of the Read-A-Thon focused on the pleasure of reading. Each pupil was able to choose the book of their choice for a personal project. The pupils' work was then presented. The exhibition was open to parents and pupils from other classes in the school. An Action Education stand, manned by our team, was on hand for the occasion.
The sale of second-hand books in aid of the charity
A book collection is organised within the school. This opportunity to sort through the pupils' libraries enables us to organise a book sale and raise additional funds for Action Education's projects.
How does fundraising work?
Through their reading efforts and awareness-raising and information campaigns, children become agents of change.
Action Education will find a partner willing to finance the children's reading efforts. This partner can be a company or a foundation. The more the children read, the more the partner pays in.
Are you a company looking to sponsor a class' reading efforts?
Testimonials from school principals and teachers who have run the Read-A-Thon
Tools at your disposal
The reading passport to track children's reading efforts
A diploma to reward students for their involvement at the end of the Read-A-Thon
Our news in Switzerland
Launch of the 2024-2025 edition of Action Education Switzerland's Marathon Lecture
On 2 October 2024, Action Education Switzerland launched the Marathon Lecture in a new participating school: the Moser School. This solidarity challenge encourages pupils to read to support access to education around the world.
Press release - International solidarity: Geneva children take up the challenge of a reading marathon to raise awareness of the importance of education in the world
From 19 February to 25 March 2024, the NGO Action Education Suisse is launching the first edition of its Marathon Lecture in partnership with the Institut Florimont, a joint literary challenge for schoolchildren in the 9th grade, to raise awareness of the importance of education.
