Dr Frank Zimmer, Vice-Dean and Professor at the Faculty of Communication and Environment, welcomed 56 Year 3 pupils from Niersenberg Primary School to a rather unusual ‘lecture’.
The ‘reading’ of the book *Das Geheimnis des Bücherhüters* by Corinna Gieseler took place, naturally, in the lecture theatre. Well-equipped with gummy bears, notepads and pens, the children listened to the exciting story, jotted down questions and drew pictures that came to mind whilst the story was being read aloud. Afterwards, the young listeners had plenty of time to do what professors and students usually do in a lecture theatre – jot down the key points on the whiteboard. For the pupils, this naturally meant the mythical creature from the story. Judging by the children’s feedback, the event was a resounding success.
Alongside Dr Frank Zimmer, 11 other prominent figures from Kamp-Lintfort had volunteered as reading ambassadors. As part of Reading Week in November 2015, they welcomed Year 3 pupils to their places of work to read aloud stories and books that were suited to the venues and the readers themselves. At the municipal utilities’ customer centre, Andreas Kaudelka (Head of the municipal utilities in Kamp-Lintfort) read aloud; in the treasury of Kamp Abbey, Dr Peter Hahnen (Head of the Spiritual and Cultural Centre) read aloud; on the stage of the town hall, Dr Christoph Müllmann (Head of the Cultural Department); at the fire station, Sandra Bonn (Head of the Youth Fire Brigade); at the police station, Thomas Deselaers (Senior Constable); at LINEG, Karl-Heinz Brandt (Board Member); in front of the vault at Sparkasse Duisburg: Marc Rehbusch (Press and Public Relations); in the training adit of the former Friedrich-Heinrich Colliery: Klaus Deuter (Head of the Training Adit Team); and finally at the municipal library: Mayor Christoph Landscheidt.
As head of the municipal library, Katharina Gebauer organised the reading day in collaboration with the Kamp-Lintfort-based association ‘Lesart’, with the aim of fostering a love of reading and sparking curiosity about the town’s various institutions. Pupils have been taking part in this wide-ranging programme since 2013. The Faculty of Communication and Environment will, of course, be taking part again next year.
