ReadTwinning aims to address the ongoing need for effective strategies and tools to promote reading among young people, bridging school activities with personal interests and fostering social connections across students of different classes, schools, cultures and countries. The need for a strong, active and methodologically innovative commitment by European schools in promoting a love for reading among young people is confirmed by all available data on reading literacy.In the EU, 1 in 5 15 year-olds is a low achiever in reading. The proportion of low achievers is above OECD average (490) in CY (437) and RO (444) and average in IT (490), UK (490) and PT (492) – Pisa 2015. In the EU the rate of low achievers has increased since PISA 2012 (1.9% increase to 19.7%); and the gap between best and worst performing countries is increasing. The EU is lagging behind the 2020 target to have less than 15 % of low achievers. Children from disadvantaged households and with migrant backgrounds are less likely to be able to read well at school and to be motivated to reading than their classmates – and this has the potential to be devastating for their future lives.“ReadTwinning: Connecting students through shared interests to develop a love for reading” will address these urgent needs by developing and testing an innovative approach whose main aim is to motivate 9-15 year old students to read more and enjoy more the experience of reading and, in turn, improve literacy.The strategic partnership will:- Author “ReadTwinning Guidelines” e-publication providing teachers and other stakeholders with methodological guidelines to implement ReadTwinning- Develop the OER - ReadTwinning Platform (www.readtwinning.eu) and toolkits to offer students and teachers online “ready-to-use” tools to connect students based on similar interests, shaping for them a rich, motivating, shared reading environment based on ‘parallel’ reading of the same book or thematically connected books. Through ReadTwinning readers from different years, schools, cities, and even countries can find reading partners with similar interests and enjoy books together.- Develop a set of 6 practical lessons plans. The plans provide teachers and parents with examples on how to integrate the ReadTwinning approach into their classroom activities (supported by parents at home) and practically define the competences of the ‘Connected Reader’- Launch of 2 Blended training courses for Connected teacher and Parental engagement. Both courses foresee the self-assessment of learning outcomes and the recognition of competence acquired by teachers through a certificateTo engage the most unmotivated and underperforming students, ReadTwinning combines a customised reading path with digital skills and networking. The resources will be launched, pilot tested and widely disseminated across Europe.The dissemination strategy is oriented to reach the school sector, at first, as well as relevant stakeholders active in other sectors, such as public libraries, digital publishers, local organisations, “GLAM” actors, technologists and digital makers, citizens. Sectorial and cross-sectorial strategy will rely on 10 multiplier events organised in 5 countries and further activities, such as the circulation of 2 recognizable brands (Connected Reader and Connected Teacher), press-conferences, e-newsletters, mass-use of social networks.Structurally embedded in the logic of the project are:- 1 Joint Staff Training event in IT to deepen the ReadTwinning approach and collaborative parallel reading.- 3 short term exchange of groups of pupils in RO, PT, and CY. A unique occasion for 12 students from vulnerable groups to take part in an international experience and collaborate with EU peers in reading activities.Main impacts on teachers will be: increased competence in cultivating young students’ motivation and reading abilities; a greater responsiveness to the needs of disadvantaged groups by developing, amongst others, competences in involving parents to support pro-reading strategies. In the medium/long term, these impacts will be sustained by: the availability of multilingual OER; the creation of communities of Connected Teachers, that favour networking, and stimulate continuing professional development in this field.Main impacts on students will be: Foster a positive attitude towards reading and greater motivation thanks to the attractiveness of personal interest-based approach, the social dynamics created, and the support of parents. We expect this impact to be amplified in the medium-long term: dissemination activities, carried out even after the end of the project promoting the platform, will generate a higher number of users, thus increasing the community and fostering an even higher engagement on the side of participants that have participated in its testing and creation.Reading is the key to unlocking every child’s full potential and opens up a world of possibilities.