The AIE’s #ioleggoperché initiative is open to all nurseries across Italia

#ioleggoperché is opening registration to all Italian nurseries for the first time. From 1 September, early years centres for children aged 0–3 across the country will be able to join the social initiative organised by the Italian Publishers’ Association (AIE) in support of school libraries and take part in the national book donation campaign scheduled for 7–15 November 2026.

The inclusion of all Italian nurseries marks a new phase for #ioleggoperché, which, after ten years working alongside schools, is expanding its scope to include early years education services. This nationwide roll-out has been made possible thanks to the support of Fondazione Cariplo, which since 2022 has supported the development of #ioleggoperchéLab-Nidi, the pilot project dedicated to nurseries carried out in Lombardy and in the provinces of Novara and Verbano-Cusio-Ossola, the Foundation’s core area of operation.

Over the course of four years, the pilot scheme has involved up to 350 nurseries located in the most vulnerable communities within these areas, helping to enrich their libraries and to establish books as a regular feature of everyday educational life. The extension of the project forms part of the Anita mandate challenge – ‘L’infanzia prima’ by Fondazione Cariplo, which supports the wellbeing of children aged between 0 and 6, with a particular focus on situations of poverty and social and economic vulnerability, promoting pathways for individual growth and the development of educational communities.

“The roll-out of #ioleggoperché to all Italian nurseries is the result of a process developed in collaboration with Aie,” said Giovanni Azzone, president of the Cariplo Foundation. “ “This experience has confirmed to us just how much shared reading from the earliest years of life promotes children’s development and strengthens the educational role of families and childcare services. This is why we are supporting the project as part of Anita – L’infanzia prima. The strength of #ioleggoperché lies in its ability to transform early reading into a major community initiative: an opportunity to engage citizens, families, schools and local communities in providing practical support to nurseries and in fostering a habit that enriches children’s present and strengthens their future opportunities.”

“With the opening of registrations to all Italian nurseries, #ioleggoperché is taking an important step forward in its development,” said AIE President Innocenzo Cipolletta. “ Four years of pilot schemes have shown us just how important it is to bring books to the places where children first encounter reading. Thanks to the support of the Cariplo Foundation through the ‘Anita’ mandate challenge, we can now turn that pilot scheme into a national initiative. Investing in reading from the very earliest years means laying the foundations for the readers of tomorrow.”