Room to Read, an organisation which focuses on increasing literacy and gender equality in education will be partnered by the ICC in promoting the global literacy campaign during the 2011 World Cup.
Among the cricket-playing countries in which Room to Read publishes books, establishes libraries and builds schools are Cricket World Cup hosts Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
During the World Cup, there will be a series of player interactions promoting Room to Read, while fans will be encouraged to donate money to fund projects through www.roomtoread.org/worldcup. The ICC has also helped establish Room to Read libraries in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
A player from each of the 14 competing teams at the tournament has contributed to the ultimate World Cup reading list as part of the campaign Shane Watson and Virat Kohli selected Andre Agassi’s ‘Open’, and our own Tamim Iqbal listed “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, as his favourite.
“I was actually imagining myself as Harry Potter. That’s the power of the writer. I thought I could do anything. It was such an engaging tale that I was reading it day and night, at every break,” said Tamim about his experience of reading the book.
