National Qaritona reading campaign launched for ninth edition

The ninth edition of the National Qaritona has been launched, with this year’s campaign placing reading at the heart of education and promoting storytelling as a bridge between cultures.

Education Minister Clifton Grima launched the initiative alongside President Emeritus and Malta Trust Foundation chairperson Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, describing the programme as another important step in encouraging children to read more and to read better.

“This is another initiative through which we continue to emphasise the importance of reading among our children. Through the National Qaritona, now in its ninth edition, we are encouraging more children to read more and read better,” Grima said.

He said the government’s core mission is to ensure that education reaches everyone in all its forms, adding that reading remains one of the strongest foundations of a healthy educational journey.

“Education takes many forms, and reading is certainly the basis of sound education throughout the educational pathway,” he said.

Speaking at the launch, Coleiro Preca said the 2026 edition of the National Qaritona offers an opportunity to celebrate the value of reading and its deep impact on learning.

She said reading not only strengthens literacy and writing skills, but also stimulates imagination, critical thinking and creativity. By encouraging children and young people to engage with stories, she said, they are being helped to express themselves, think innovatively and tackle challenges with fresh ideas.

“Initiatives such as Qaritona inspire a lifelong love of reading, which is the foundation for personal growth and academic success,” she said.

This year’s theme is “Tales Across Cultures – Connecting Young Voices Through Storytelling”.

During the launch, four students shared stories and experiences from their own cultures with distinguished guests, reading ambassadors and fellow students. Afterwards, students were given the opportunity to ask questions about reading to Coleiro Preca, Grima and the reading ambassadors.

The initiative is designed for primary and middle school students and encourages children from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds to share, explore and reimagine folk tales and fairy tales as a way of fostering unity across cultures.

Through a range of activities that can take place in the classroom or at home, students will share traditional stories from their own cultures, explore Maltese stories, and collaborate creatively with classmates to create new stories together.

The National Qaritona is being organised through a collaboration between the Malta Trust Foundation, the National Literacy Agency, the Malta Foundation for the Wellbeing of Society and Malta Public Transport, with the participation of state, Church and independent primary and middle schools.

The project aims to promote literacy while nurturing a love of reading among children and young people.

The launch was held at St Clare College Primary School in San Gwann and was also attended by David Muscat, chief executive of the National Literacy Agency.

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