For almost ten years, we have been running the Kindloteka programme that aims to create spaces across the CEE region to popularise reading and the development of digital competencies among children and young people. We also support educators by offering them professional development programmes, as well as organising meetings and summits—such as Kindlotekowisko—where they can share their experience and ideas. Utilising the best possible materials, we work closely with community partners such as Digital Dialogue Association and the Zaczytani Foundation.
Activities and goals during the 2023-2024 school year
During the past school year, we upgraded all Kindlotekas to the STEM standard, so all facilities can now use brand new equipment; in Poland and Slovakia we organised the first Kindlotekowisko – a nationwide summit of Kindloteka educators, which became a space for learning and exchange of ideas and where we organised a series of 20 webinars and meetings for more than 4,000 children and young people from Poland, Slovakia, and Czechia. We also gathered over 75 teachers and educators in 11 webinars dedicated to the development of Kindlotekas.
Amazon volunteers at Kindlotekas
During May, our Global Month of Volunteering, Polish Amazonians volunteered and received training in reading aloud and STEM workshops. Nearly 200 Amazon volunteers took part in training that prepared them to lead STEM and literacy activities in their local communities for children and young people.
In July, Amazonians started volunteering activities in their local institutions. Some organised reading sessions in hospitals, introducing young patients to different literary worlds. The children listened to fairy tales, talked about their own experiences, and browsed the books available to them in the hospital to get to read more stories.
Amazon volunteers have also supported Kindlotekas in other activities, including co-creating new Kindloteka spaces.
Anna Lisiecka, a volunteer from our KTW5 fulfilment centre in Poland, said: “It has been extremely rewarding and inspiring to work together to create a Kindloteka. Thanks to our joint efforts, we managed to create a modern place that will certainly attract many young readers and serve the local community for many years to come. It's a great feeling to see how our work translates into real benefits for local residents.”
Grants for educational initiatives
In Poland, we organised a competition for the best local educational initiatives. The goal of the initiative was to engage the local community, promote Kindlotekas’ resources to residents, connect different generations, and learn together. Choosing the winning projects was not easy, but we managed to select 13 Kindlotekas that won grants worth PLN 2,000 (€500) to organise their own events.
Training educators
We also launched an inspirational monthly webinar series “From Kindloteka for Kindloteka”, during which more than 75 Polish Kindloteka coordinators shared not only their ideas and initiatives, but also were able to get help with organisational and administrative issues.
Meet and Code
To meet the expectations of an ever-changing world, we are involved in various educational initiatives across the region, including the Meet and Code programme, of which we are once again a local partner. The initiative has been promoting the development of digital competencies among children and young people in Europe for eight years, and the past edition gathered more than 6,000 participants at 130 different events. This year, the programme will last until October – the last call for registering initiatives is by the end of September here.
Gifted Explorers
As part of the Gifted Explorers project, which supports the integration of children from Poland and Ukraine, we prepared 20 webinars and DIY online meetings for elementary school pupils and their teachers. During the school year, as many as 15,000 children participated in various activities within the framework of the project.
Ending the school year with two Kindloteka summits
After the successful first Polish Kindloteka summit, we decided to organise a second meeting of Kindloteka programme coordinators in Poland and the first Kindloteka summit in Slovakia. The goals were to look back on Kindloteka activities, integrate and develop educational and technological competencies, and learn about new methods of teaching STEM and literacy.
In Slovakia, the event was a perfect opportunity to get to know each other as it was the first of its kind in the country.
Long-term impact on local communities
In June this year, we started the “Education is Key” campaign, through which we will undertake a number of volunteering activities to support education in CEE, including in Kindlotekas. To address local community needs, Amazon will provide monetary, product, and volunteer support by partnering with Clean the World (CEE partner), the Polish Red Cross and Zaczytani.org Foundation in Poland, Adra in Czechia, and the Slovakian Red Cross in Slovakia.
Thinking about long-term impact in our local communities and Amazon’s support for education, we will continue to expand the Kindloteka programme, and by the end of the year, we are planning to open six more Kindlotekas: five in Poland and one in Czechia.
