Action Pathway
Education and Reading
Rapid advances in technology are transforming economies, communication, and governance, and education enables people to fully participate in these growing societies. However, across Asia and the Pacific, only half of primary and lower-secondary students reach minimum reading competency.
Changing that requires reading material that reflects children’s own lives, creating engagement that carries forward throughout their educations. That engagement builds creative thinking, communication skills, adaptability, and other capabilities that innovative economies and resilient communities depend on. Structural support for education systems allows quality teaching to thrive and early literacy practices equip the next generation to shape their societies.
Children’s books published in more than 70 languages
Freely available through the Let’s Read digital library.
Local languages represented
Helping children learn to read in languages they know and use every day.
Digital books accessed
By children, families, and educators across Asia and the Pacific.
Countries
Governments and local partners working together to strengthen early literacy and reading ecosystems.
Educators in the Philippines
Integrating social-emotional learning through Let’s Read books and classroom activities.
APPROACH
The Asia Foundation supports education at every level, from national policy reform to regional and local programs advancing early reading across Asia and the Pacific. We work with education ministries and local governments on the resourcing that reaches classrooms and with school leaders putting policy into practice. Through Let’s Read, we partner with local writers and illustrators to build a library of culturally rooted storybooks in the languages children speak at home. We then work with schools and community groups to make reading a natural, joyous part of children’s everyday lives. We collaborate with a range of partners across Asia and the Pacific who are passionate about education and reading, and together we are building the literacy, confidence, and skills children need to participate in—and contribute to—their communities.
related programs
Let’s Read
Creating supportive reading environments where children can access free, relevant books and engaging learning opportunities.
Strengthening Education Systems for Better Learning
The Philippines is working to address one of the region’s most significant learning crises while modernizing education governance. Supported by the Australian government, the Realizing Efficient Governance and Streamlined Reforms in Education program supports the Philippine government in its efforts to address childhood reading and math deficiencies and improve the education system.
Let’s Read: Building a Culture of Reading in Mongolia
As Mongolia works to strengthen early learning, we help families, teachers, authors, and government expand access to books and build lasting reading habits.
Let’s Read Maldives
In the Maldives, Let’s Read supports literacy and the preservation of Dhivehi language and culture by expanding access to high-quality children’s literature through a free digital library. Launched in 2020, the platform has grown to include nearly 200 books in Dhivehi and recorded more than 71,000 reads and downloads in 2025. Working with local writers, illustrators, educators, and partner institutions, the initiative provides engaging, culturally relevant reading materials for children across the country. It marks the transition from the long-running Books for Asia program, which operated for more than 30 years in the Maldives and helped improve access to books and educational resources across the country.