Read up .. Moroccans build a renewed relationship with books inside the tramway

Abdel Ghani Ballout - Casablanca

At the UN square station for "tramway" in the city of Casablanca, the young woman Omaima Zahr presents to a passenger a book about "prose works" by writer Mohamed Bennis, interfering with him in an interesting dialogue about the importance of using time to read.

With her distinguished sporting clothes for a cultural initiative, she travels lightly, and makes sure to smile with an unmistakable smile, to record the information of the beneficiaries in order to communicate with them on upcoming occasions.

Omaima (Vice President of the Youth Pioneers Club) tells Al Jazeera Net that the occasion is a beautiful occasion to reconcile with the book at a time when the "smart phone culture" was overshadowed.

An initiative to encourage reading
In the Kingdom, a reading initiative was launched inside the tramway, coinciding with the holding of the International Publishing and Book Exhibition in the city of Casablanca, under the slogan "Read Connect" (read up) to encourage the acquisition of the habit of reading within public transportation.

Forty youth from the club, affiliated to Hassan II University, Ain Al-Shaq, led the initiative in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture and the Casa Tramway company.

The initiative put at the disposal of passengers about twenty libraries containing five thousand publications, while opening the possibility of subscribing to this initiative by providing books to enrich the libraries.

Interest and enthusiasm
The initiative received official attention, and knew the expected turnout from segments of society and of all ages, assisted in this by the abundance of books, quality and attractive titles, as Omaima confirms, and she seems happy with the success of the initiative.

"What is nice about the initiative is the enthusiasm that was accompanied by students who are at the forefront of young people who are aware of the importance of culture for building self and society," said Minister of Culture Hassan Abiaba.

He added to Al-Jazeera Net during his visit to one of the initiative's stations, "No society can advance without relying on food for the mind, it is an initiative that coincides with the international exhibition for publishing and the book, and aims to carry the book normally in the lives of citizens."

Logo and purpose
The emblem of the "Read Up" initiative appears to be related to traveling on a tramway, but reading in Omaima's view is a diverse travel through self first and through the ideas presented by each writer in his work in the fields of science and literature.

And "reaching" in the slogan does not mean moving from one station to another in daily travel, it is deeper than that - explains Omaima - it is a behavior that must become familiar in all aspects of life for those who want to chart a path in life to achieve success on several levels.

"(The initiative) is rooted in movies through social media, that reading on public transport is linked to the civilized world," said educator Abdel Salam Farhan to Al Jazeera Net.

He adds, "This habit is still in its Arab societies far from reality (which we live in) and needs more awareness. It is a subjective process related to social upbringing at home, school and the street."

The beginning of the story
Omaima highlights that the club specializes in providing assistance to those in need, and this special initiative was planned and implemented by young people with great enthusiasm as usual.

"The promotional video, which was produced by young people with the help of a well-known actor, had a good standing in the hearts of those who watched it, according to a survey we did," she explains.

Omaima goes back to saying, "At the beginning of the initiative, some passengers greeted us with astonishment and amazement, because people think that reading is a school or library."

But with the succession of days, the idea began and passengers began to accept it, and what encouraged the initiative was that an old book could be replaced with a new one for free, and given the value of the offered books, we have found that many wanted to take more than one book, but that is not possible until the greatest number of beneficiaries have the opportunity ".

Discussion
The reputation of the initiative, in connection with the reality of reading in the Arab world, has shifted to discussion clubs within the International Book Fair, and many intellectuals have favored it, while some have talked about low reading rates not exceeding six minutes per year.

"Some people are trying to impose a bleak picture by presenting statistics that lack objectivity and accuracy," says young novelist Abdel Majeed Sabata of Al Jazeera Net.

The translator and award-winning writer added to the young writers, "The younger generation in my view at least, and through my follow-up to the youth movement in this regard, is showing increasing interest in the book, as I contributed to this interest in social media with its pages and groups specialized in presenting new Arab and international publications, with healthy discussions. About its quality. "

He concludes with certainty that there are positive indicators that we must build on for the coming future, in the short and medium term, by inculcating a culture of awareness of the importance of reading and transforming it into a daily activity that is almost like the natural necessities of life.