BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANISATION
The Hungarian Reading Association (HUNRA) was founded in 1991 by reading researchers, librarians, teachers, linguists, editors, special education teachers and teacher training professionals. Since then it has been working in the service of Hungarian reading culture, a term which our association understands in its broadest sense.
HUNRA's objectives include the organisation of conferences, the dissemination and promotion of methods of reading education and reading therapy, reading research and the international results of children's literature research, and the implementation of these methods in practice.
We believe that reading is the foundation of all learning and cultural skills. Through our professional work, we aim to contribute to the development of the elementary skills of reading and the various sub-skills of reading in early childhood and to the possibility, pleasure and benefits of reading in its traditional and modern forms to all levels and all members of society, regardless of origin, gender, ideology, age, physical disadvantage or financial situation. Our goal is that access to reading and through it to knowledge should exist as a fundamental human right in Hungarian society. We aim to build this from the grassroots up, and therefore share our knowledge on the components of literacy culture widely. With all our means, we contribute to making the presence of a literate environment the most natural environment for every young child from the first moment of his or her life. We strive to ensure that all children in Hungary have the opportunity to grow up in a literate environment, thanks to adults who talk, tell stories, read aloud and help them to learn to write.
The members of the Hungarian Reading Society are reading researchers, librarians, teachers at universities, primary and secondary schools, artists, students, entrepreneurs, doctors, dedicated professionals, or interested individuals and institutions who volunteer their time to promote and strengthen the culture of reading.
The main focus of our activities is to support reading motivation activities, programmes and digital applications that will encourage children to read in a real and lasting way. We also promote reading and reading comprehension strategies that support the development of reading comprehension, or develop reading learning methods that facilitate and support the process of acquisition.
The Hungarian Reading Association is actively involved in the tasks of literacy education in schools, our experts in children's literature and our colleagues in story therapy are searching for and recommending to teachers and the general public in various forums reading materials that are in line with the Association's fundamental aim of creating the conditions for literacy education.
HOW THE ORGANISATION WILL CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISSEMINATION AND EXPLOITATION OF THE PROJECT RESULTS
As a national professional organisation, our members include many professionals working in higher education, teaching and research. Through them, the results of the project will be shared nationally in their higher education institutions. Digital literacy is, of course, included in the concept of literacy and is strongly present in the research of our organisation. The application of our project's online learning materials presupposes and requires the existence of digital literacy skills, so our existing research results in the promotion, dissemination and application of digital literacy can support their practical application.
