All of us who work in the field of youth literature and reading are aware of the importance of including adults and older people in encouraging children and teenagers to read. Successful lifelong readers grow with vertical encouragement of reading: from family (cradle reading), to school and peer reading to various forms of intergenerational reading (at all levels with particular attention given to readers with special needs). Sharing reading experiences deepens both reading and interpersonal relationships. This is also something that both the Slovenian Section of IBBY, which with its various campaigns to promote reading tries to satisfy the hunger for words with readers of various ages, and the Slovenian Reading Badge Society, which has been encouraging reading for more than six decades, are aware of.

Tilka Jamnik is an expert in the field of youth literature and reading with many years of experience in promoting reading among young people and intergenerational reading. She is an external associate of the Ljubljana City Library, Pionirska – Centre for Youth Literature and Librarianship, Vice President of the Slovenian Reading Badge Society, and Vice President of the Slovenian Section of IBBY. She is recipient of several awards, among others the International Literacy Association Maryann Manning Special Service Award in 2019, the award’s only European recipient.