The National Book Week took place from August 8-10 and was celebrated under the theme, “Click on a Book, Pick up a Book, Read.” Students from Kopkop College took part in learning the importance of books and how technology can be used to access books. Throughout the week the primary and secondary schools participated in a variety of activities to celebrate the importance of reading and its lifelong benefits. Speaking at the opening of the Book Week on Tuesday August 8th, Kopkop College Primary School Principal Mr. Satchell Ben encouraged students to take reading seriously. He pointed out that over the recent years there has been a decline in children picking up a book outside of school and reading. “Some parents fear the increased technology has gotten in the way of children’s traditional love for reading. “However, we can actually use this technology to capture the interest that you children have in a tablet or a mobile phone to access literature.” “Starting from this week and onwards take advantage of the technology that you have and click on a book, pick up a book and read, do that and make it a lifelong habit.” 2023 Book Week Committee and Primary school teacher Ms. Pauline Kankonaru said that students from the junior school did book reviews and created posters based on their books, middle school have various activities from role play to creating booklets and the senior school did book reviews on fiction books. Ms. Kankonaru described the atmosphere at the school as “lots of fun and excitement. “I’ve been teaching in Kopkop College for almost three years now and as an English teacher I would say that reading is taken seriously in Kopkop College.” “One way of encouraging students in reading is having a mini-library in the classroom. You will find in every primary classroom there is a mini-library with shelves full of reading books.” She feels Book Week is too short and should instead be extended to two weeks. “PNG needs to be open-minded about the importance of books and reading. We need to educate the younger generations to love books and enjoy reading more.” She feels the theme speaks to the younger generation whose lives are being taken over by technology. “Anyone can get access to hundreds of books through their smart phones, especially young generations, so instead of TikTok, click on a book, pick up a book and read.”