It all began in Hafnarfjörður. The Great Reading Competition!
Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir is the founder of the Great Reading Competition and has been involved with this notable initiative from the very beginning; the competition's history spans a total of 24 years. This time, Ingibjörg is the guest on the front seat of Vitan, the City of Hafnarfjörður's podcast. In the interview, we hear about Ingibjörg's background; she has lived in Reykjavík all her life but has had strong professional ties to Hafnarfjörður. From the age of seven, she was determined to become a teacher and taught for a total of 25 years. Later, the City of Hafnarfjörður became Ingibjörg's professional base, where she worked in the education office for 20 years, from 1996.
Ingibjörg Einarsdóttir is the founder of the Great Reading Competition and has been involved with this notable initiative from the very beginning; the competition's history spans a total of 24 years. This time, Ingibjörg is the guest on the front seat of Vitan, the City of Hafnarfjörður's podcast. In the interview, we hear about Ingibjörg's background; she has lived in Reykjavík all her life but has had strong professional ties to Hafnarfjörður. From the age of seven, she was determined to become a teacher and taught for a total of 25 years. Later, the City of Hafnarfjörður became Ingibjörg's professional base, where she worked in the education office for 20 years, from 1996.
The poets of the 2019 competition were Ævar Þór Benediktsson and Anna Sigrún Snorradóttir. Here you can see Ingibjörg with Ævar.
Started as a pilot project on reading aloud
The Great Reading Competition began in Hafnarfjörður in the winter of 1996-1997 as a pilot project on reading, but has since spread throughout the country. The competition is not about being the first to finish, but about training and taking care in reading. Carefulness, respect and enjoyment are the competition's motto. In the programme, Ingibjörg shares with listeners stories of miracles about children who were slow readers but went on to become winners. Children of foreign origin have also done well in the competition. In the programme, Ingibjörg discusses the origin, purpose and importance of cultivating a warm Icelandic language through training and a polished delivery, as well as putting forward new ideas for the competition's future, which has remained almost unchanged for nearly a quarter of a century.
This remarkable competition begins each year on the Day of the Icelandic Language on 16 November and concludes in March with the selection of the three best readers in each community, or in the district of each school office. The final festival in Hafnarfjörður is always held in Hafnarborg in April, and this year it will take place on 26th May, but due to Covid-19 the festival had to be postponed by two months. It should be noted that the interview with Ingibjörg was recorded in March.
Listen to the programme:
The Lighthouse Podcast – a chat with interesting individuals who work for the benefit of the town.
In Vitanum, we chat with interesting individuals who work for the benefit of the town. The podcast covers the council's services, interesting development projects, and a wide range of topics. It opens up to a more in-depth discussion of specific projects, services, and issues that are currently a hot topic. All episodes of Vitanum can be accessed. Here but also on podcast platforms such as Spotify , Simplecast and Podcast Addict. Work is underway to make Vitann available on more platforms.