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Reader Development is a strand of the British Council’s New Approaches to Learning regional project which resulted in Central and South Asia regional Reader Development Conference in Uzbekistan this year. Historic and poetical city, Bukhara, welcomed the participants of the Conference on June 2-6. The event was organised in partnership with the national youth organisation in Uzbekistan called “The Voice of the Future”.
 
65 participants from Bangladesh, Iran, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and the UK explored the ways of personal and professional development opportunities through reading, the role of reading and writing in intercultural dialogue.
The event was supported by the Network that brings together more than 100 members from the CSA region and other parts of the world on the regional website www.developreading.com maintained by the Centre of Intellectual Projects, another British Council partner institution in Uzbekistan.
•Management through Reading workshop facilitated by a UK consultant to the project, Tom Forrest. The workshop explored how using creative literature in facilitated discussions can help young individuals to develop personally and professionally and develop skills to identify personal goals for career development, make decisions and solve problems.
•Creative Writing workshop for young and amateur writers was conducted by Sherry Ashworth, one of the UK illustrious contemporary writers. The sessions allowed the quest for inspiration and encompassed creative poetry as well as creative prose writing in English.
•Readers’ club Facilitators Training workshop that aimed at broadening the network of readers and discussed the unique value of the Reader Development initiative and helped participants develop fundamental skills for facilitation.
As a part of the Conference Sherry Ashworth together with a renowned Uzbek writer, Erkin A’zam, met readers at the Centre of Intellectual Projects. Both parties enjoyed the meeting. The writers answered the readers’ questions.
At the moment the regional network includes 63 Readers’ Clubs, six of them specifically aimed to provide Personal and Professional Development through reading. Moreover, there have been established long term ties with Manchester Metropolitan University and the network of readers in the UK.
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