Ten years of "BOOKS FOR ALL"

The exhibition "Ten Years of "BOOKS FOR ALL": When Accessible Reading Becomes a Reality" opens at the
Alba Diocesan Library from June 19th to July 19th. The
traveling exhibition, held in the Episcopal Seminary, celebrates the tenth anniversary of the project by the Paideia Foundation of Turin,
with the support of the Piedmont Region. Admission is free during the Seminary's opening hours,
10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (Please call the secretary's office - entrance is on Piazza Vittorio Veneto).

There's a way of reading that excludes no one. A way in which words are accompanied by
symbols, stories become accessible, and every child can feel part of the narrative. It was from this
vision that, ten years ago, "Books for All" was born, a project by the Paideia Foundation, developed with the
support of the Piedmont Region, which has now transformed accessible reading into a
widespread cultural practice throughout Piedmont.

Launched in 2016 to meet the needs of all readers, particularly those with
communication and linguistic difficulties, the project has built a vibrant
and widespread network across the country, involving libraries, schools, hospitals, local health authorities, associations, and families,
promoting the dissemination of books using AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) symbols.

Today, the network includes over 60 partner organizations, 135 dedicated shelves, and an estimated 9,000 books
distributed throughout Piedmont. But the project's growth isn't measured solely in numbers: over
the years, librarians, teachers, healthcare workers, educators, and families have acquired new
skills in Augmentative and Alternative Communication and multimodal reading,
helping transform libraries, schools, and healthcare facilities into increasingly accessible and
inclusive spaces.

It is precisely the "Books for All" network that has made this change possible, transforming
individual virtuous experiences into ongoing and shared practices throughout the region.
To celebrate this milestone, the traveling exhibition "Books for All" is launching, a journey open
to the public that will tour libraries and cultural spaces across Piedmont throughout 2026 and 2027.

A journey through stories, symbols, and images to illustrate how reading can become a
space for real, shared, and daily participation. The exhibition invites visitors to enter the
world of multimodal reading and discover how a book of symbols is born: from the encounter between the
written word, pictograms, illustrations, sounds, and gestures. Because, as the Paideia Foundation explains, "a book
of symbols is like a house everyone can enter."