The ‘Liberdade’ Reading Club at the Braga Campus of the Portuguese Catholic University aims to promote books and encourage young people to read, while broadening the cultural horizons of the students at this educational establishment.
This structure is run by professors Cândido de Oliveira Martins and Luísa Magalhães, in conjunction with the work of the students. Operating for about a year and a half, it is the result of an application to the ‘Higher Education Reading Clubs’ programme, under the National Reading Plan 2027.
In response to the Government's challenge, a group of students, with representatives from all courses at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, submitted their project to set up the ‘Liberdade’ Reading Club, which was one of 20 selected nationwide.
Cândido de Oliveira Martins explains that the Reading Club periodically invites writers to talk about books, in sessions that usually take place on the university premises. However, there are also initiatives in other places of cultural interest, such as the recent visit to the exhibition ‘Rostos Inabaláveis’ (Unshakeable Faces) by Sílvia Mota Lopes, open to the public at the Nogueira da Silva Museum, about women writers, which is associated with a book.
In statements to Diário do Minho, the university professor explains that invitations have been sent to ‘contemporary authors from different generations, sometimes more established, sometimes younger.’ ‘It is good for students to get to know the authors who are being published in Portugal and to have the experience of maintaining a close dialogue with them,’ he adds.
Students are challenged to get to know the writers by reading their works, so that they can then discuss what they have written. "Young people can talk to writers, ask them questions about what they think about contemporary issues, about major current topics. It is motivating for young people to realise that writers are not detached from everyday life and that they also care about issues that affect all citizens, that they have a critical voice and the courage to speak out. This is also extremely formative," he says.
On the other hand, participation in the Reading Club allows for the development of ‘related skills,’ as students have to organise events, with all that this entails in terms of logistics, moderate debates, conduct interviews, or write news articles about the events.
The academic notes that it is not easy to get young people interested in reading. ‘Students are not particularly motivated to read, which only proves that the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education was right to promote this initiative to set up reading clubs,’ he says.
‘At the Catholic University, we are making a great effort to raise awareness, to motivate, to bring students to the sessions that are held periodically. The results are positive,’ he adds.
"As part of the National Reading Plan, for years we have been investing in a programme to motivate students in primary and secondary education. Now it is the turn of higher education, because it has been concluded that it is necessary to invest in this area, since students who have good reading habits are certainly students who think better, with a critical spirit and greater analytical skills. There are a number of advantages that students will have, regardless of the area they are studying, due to solid reading habits," she points out.
Luísa Magalhães, in turn, states that the challenge of encouraging reading is a priority, from an educational point of view, at different levels of education.
‘Nowadays, asking a higher education student to read carefully and attentively is almost like asking them to swim against the tide. To resist the saturation of euphoric stimuli, constant notifications and content designed for quick consumption: reading involves stopping, slowing down, accepting silence and dealing with complex ideas – everything that the digital environment tends to avoid,’ he points out.
Essentially, the Reading Club develops the idea that "reading is an act of cultural resistance: it is choosing to delve deeper rather than move on, to think rather than just react. It means allowing thoughts to breathe, creating time for oneself and assuming a space of intellectual autonomy, where one can question, doubt and construct one's own meaning.‘ ’We are used to content that shows everything, that guides the gaze and reduces the margin of doubt. Books, on the contrary, require active participation. And that is precisely where their value lies," she stresses.
For the teacher, creating motivation among university students is today "one of the most delicate challenges in higher education, especially when they are asked to do something that is no longer so familiar to them: interpreting, imagining and thinking without the constant support of images. By promoting this Reading Club, we aim to revive this idea among our students – reading as a space for freedom, creativity and personal discovery: this may be a possible way to transform resistance into curiosity and participation into a desire for culture."
Interesting activities to motivate young people
The importance of Clube Liberdade in encouraging young people to read is emphasised by the coordinator of this organisation, Catarina Nogueira. A third-year Communication Sciences student, she explains that the aim is to ‘captivate students with literature and culture, at a time when young people do not seem to be so attracted to cultural consumption’. In her view, organising interesting activities fosters students' interest in this area. ‘A highly enriching experience, such as a visit to the exhibition “Rostos Inabaláveis” (Unshakeable Faces) by Sílvia Mota Lopes at the Nogueira da Silva Museum, can be a good starting point for students to return to reading, going to museums or theatres,’ she argues.
This work by Clube Liberdade is also part of the Local Reading Plan developed by the Municipality of Braga, in which Cândido de Oliveira Martins and Luísa Magalhães participate.
