About The signal project for reading "Troll i ord"
(Words come true)

“We are a small speech community that has to struggle to preserve our language culture, language is under constant pressure.”

“Norwegians are using increasingly less time reading. We are at the bottom of the list among the Nordic countries in regards to library visits and borrowing books. This development must be reversed.”

This was said by the Minister of Culture, Turid Birkeland, at the time that Stavanger was awarded the signal project for increasing the urge to read in the fall of 1997.

What was the signal project?

The purpose of the signal project was to test measures that could contribute to renewing cultural politics. The signal project tested various measures that were evaluated during and at completion of the project. The measures that worked can be useful to others.

Why the signal project to enhance the urge to read?

Reading is an activity exposed to competition. Norwegians are constantly using less and less time reading, and Nordic reading surveys show that we borrow the least amount of books. The signal project for increasing the urge to read would help to reverse this trend.

Why Stavanger?

Literature and dissemination already have a strong position in Stavanger. The Nordic Conference for Children's Literature is arranged every other year, the Literature Week at Sting has taken place for over 10 years and has been a very popular meeting place for authors and readers, and the annual Chapter Festivals "kapittel-festivalene" have obtained international format. The city has an active environment for authors, and one of the country's most active and best visited libraries.

Why the name "Troll i ord" (Words come true) ?

We chose a name that we felt was self fulfilling for the whole project. It was also a name that shows the way to fantasy, which plays on magic, mystique and fairy tales. “Troll i ord” refers to oral stories and reading, is associated with other things than books, and it does not contain the command “read!”. “Troll i ord”, along with the fable figure in the logo, proved to be a very good and recognizable identity for the project.

Who were we trying to influence?

We chose to concentrate our measures towards children and youngsters, and towards parents and adults that work with children. We tried to influence the adults directly, while we at the same time had many offers aimed at the main group. Change over time starts with the youngest, and our goal were that children obtain a positive experience from reading. Later as adults they will continue to read on their own and hopefully read to their children.

How long?

The signal project “Troll i ord” lasted three years, from fall 1998 to summer 2001.

Who were our cooperation partners?

Choosing untraditional cooperation partners was a part of what made the “Troll i ord” project special. Literature and other forms of expression were presented in new arenas, thus reaching a greater audience. Cooperation partners were among others: Author Associations, Colleges, Publishers, Bookshops, Child Health Centers, Role-playing designers and actors, The Oil Museum, the Senior Citizens Committee, Fashion shops and designers, the Center for Reading Research, Master degree students, Child Care students, restaurants and pubs, dance schools and Rogaland County Administration. Our most important supporters were everyone who could be found “between the book and the child” ; that is kindergartens, schools, teachers, parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and so on.

Sub-projects

“Troll i ord” consisted of several different sub-projects and a few larger campaigns. We also worked actively towards the mass media to increase the amount of attention for our project and arrangements.

Back to main page.