The Municipality of Sinnai ranked 11th in the national ranking drawn up by the “Centre for Books and Reading” among those with a population between 15,000 and 50,000 inhabitants who participated in the “City that Reads 2024” competition, with a score of 74 points.

This position guaranteed the municipality a €30,000 grant . Sinnai is the only Sardinian municipality in the aforementioned population range to have participated and been among the winners.

The project proposal, entitled " Reading Bridges: uniting people through stories" developed by the Municipal Library , starts from the qualification "Sinnai City that Reads", acquired since 2023 and reconfirmed for the three-year period 2024-25-26, as an element of identity of a new phase in community life, of participation and redemption through culture and reading and marks an important path begun with the approval of the "Sinnai Reading Pact".

The "Reading Bridges: Connecting People Through Stories" project, responding to the objectives of the CEPELL call for proposals, aims to bridge gaps in access to reading and culture. Another innovative element is its integration with existing programs within the Local Reading Pact network.

The project is structured into a series of actions that include expanding Sinnai's urban network with the creation of a branch in the hamlet of Tasonis, part of the community center's activities. This is thanks to the crucial contribution of our partner Fondazione Polisolidale, and will lead to the creation of a network of libraries operating throughout the area and open to all citizens . The project will also increase the supply of AAC and Inbook books to meet the needs of local users with disabilities in the three Library locations, schools, the CARS center, and other locations. The project will also launch a communications and marketing strategy for "Sinnai Città che legge" at both the local and national levels. Furthermore, "libri in movimento" (Books on the Move), a measure aimed at promoting reading in libraries and other contexts, organized in collaboration with the project partners: the cultural association L'Effimero meraviglioso, Sardinia To Do, and il Crogiuolo, and will feature reading promotion workshops in libraries, schools, and other local contexts.

The Sinnai reading park is planned to be developed in two areas: a bookcase for the schools of the Sinnai 1-2 State Comprehensive Institute; and small libraries scattered throughout the Sinnai area, created by the woodcarving course at the Sinnai University for the Third Age, which will allow for increased bookcrossing activities.

The project will last 12 months and cost €32,000 (plus €2,000 in co-financing from the Fondazione Polisolidale). Numerous partners will be involved, all of whom are already particularly committed to promoting reading, social work, the inclusion of people with motor, cognitive, and sensory disabilities, culture, and new technologies.

Mayor Barbara Pusceddu described it as a "major achievement. Spreading the habit of reading as a tool for personal growth and civic development : this is the goal with which the City Administration intends to enhance and support the ongoing and valuable work of the Municipal Library. This daily commitment, carried out with skill and professionalism, translates into the creation of regional networks and the promotion of local synergies. The Municipal Library thus confirms its role as a place of encounter and exchange, where good reading practices are promoted through initiatives based on the sharing of texts and the direct involvement of readers."

"This activity," Pusceddu concludes, "helps make communities more open, solid, and cohesive—qualities that are always needed, but which are even more essential today."

For Councilor for Culture Cristiano Spina, "this result represents an important confirmation of the path we have undertaken: promoting reading as a tool for inclusion, participation, and social growth. It is concrete recognition of the constant, passionate, and highly qualified work carried out by the Sinnai Municipal Library, the beating heart of our cultural network. We have decided to invest wholeheartedly in culture, but also in technological innovation applied to knowledge, because we believe in increasingly modern access to culture." or, open and inclusive."

Library Director Luisella Saddi said she was "pleased but not surprised by this result, which recognizes not only the project presented, but the process undertaken and the efforts made by this administration to reaffirm the importance of reading in the growth of a community." " I thank," she continued, "the many partners who have shared and continue to share this mission with us, especially the signatories of the Local Reading Pact and, of course, everyone who has consistently confirmed the value of our initiatives with their interest and participation. Now this project will allow us to raise the bar of our ambitions even higher and to broaden our focus to the entire city on a stable basis, by consolidating the network we have established."

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