World Book Day and Literature Under the April Sky 2023 Opening Ceremony

世界书香日暨文学四月天开幕典礼 2023

More than 450 secondary and pre-university students from 21 schools immersed themselves in the literary world of the Chinese classic "Dreams of the Red Chamber" 《红楼梦》at this year's "World Book Day and Literature Under the April Sky" opening ceremony. Jointly organised by the Committee to Promote Chinese Language Learning (CPCLL), National Library Board and Hwa Chong Institution (HCI), this year's event is held under the theme "Explore the Classics and Discover the Wonders of Life" （读经典·品人生）, which aims to expose youths to classic Chinese novels and promote a culture of reading among youths.

2. At the opening ceremony held at HCI on 15 April 2023, Minister of State for Education and Chairperson of the CPCLL Ms Gan Siow Huang launched a student publication titled《也无风雨也无晴》, which compiles outstanding essays written by students in the Author-in-Residence programme. Ms Gan also presented the Chinese Language Elective Programme (CLEP) Best Improvement Award to 28 secondary and pre-university students. The list of award recipients can be found in Annex A.

3. At the event, Associate Professor Qu Jingyi（曲景毅博士）, Head of Chinese in Nanyang Technology University's School of Humanities, and renowned local author Dr. Chua Chee Lay （蔡志礼博士）delivered keynote addresses on their analyses of "Dreams of the Red Chamber". They were joined by authors Mr Chow Teck Seng, Mr Wang Yi and Mr Fu Chong in a panel discussion on the Chinese classic. The audience was also introduced to characters from the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature （四大名著）via a crosstalk performance by students from Nanyang Girls' High School.

4. In the lead up to this year's event, students from more than 120 primary and secondary schools participated in the month-long "World Book Day@Schools" programme, which featured activities like virtual guided reading sessions for primary school students, as well as talks by local writers and publishers for secondary school students. Chinese language educators also participated in a sharing session to exchange views and promote professional learning among the fraternity.

5. From now till the end of May, members of the public can participate in various reading activities held at the NLB and at local reading clubs. For more information on World Book Day activities, please visit www.cpcll.sg.