Encouraging and helping young people to read through mobile phones

Supported by the Shuttleworth Foundation under a UNESCO-Nokia partnership, this mobile service is designed to get South African teenagers reading. More than half of homes in the country don’t own a book and only 7% of state schools have working libraries. Since its creation Yoza Cellphone Stories has become a huge library of mobile, digital books, from classics and poetry to contemporary tales from local authors. The project clearly shows that young people can enjoy long-form writing if it’s adapted to their lifestyle and habits (language, relevance of characters, periodicity, etc.)