Mindanao Book Fair 2024 — A success

The Ateneo Arrupe Hall was filled with bookworms and individuals who supported the three-day Mindanao Book Fair that concluded on March 17, 2024. With hundreds of people visiting and purchasing reading materials, the event absolutely succeeded in igniting the passion for reading that would empower every individual. The event was organized by Primetrade Asia Inc. in collaboration with the Davao Association of Catholic Schools (DACS).

Tinette Capistrano, Vice President of Primetrade Asia, Inc., shared that this is the first time they had the book fair organized in an academic setting. They are hoping that this move will inspire students to raise awareness about the importance of reading, its power to increase literacy, and to simply revive the beauty of reading as part of our daily lives.

Through reading and comprehension, we become literate. Capistrano said that literate people will be of great help in improving the status quo of our society. Literate people equate to engaged people, thus allowing themselves to immerse in issues that hamper the development of everyone and create solutions to address these issues.

The Mindanao Book Fair continues to challenge each one of us, primarily in the sense of how we can regenerate positive ideas through reading that would contribute to changes within society. For some, the event might just be a showcase of books, a display of drawings and graphics. Yet, if we grasp the real essence of the event, we will be able to understand that it is reading and being literate that allow us to move forward as one society, one nation. (Jason Roi O. Bayla, HCDC BA-COMM Intern | Photos: Ateneo de Davao University)