Garnica promotes reading through the “Books for Factories” initiative

On 5 October, a hundred workers took part in the ninth edition of Books for Factories (Los libros, a las fábricas) at our factory in Valencia de Don Juan. The event featured photographer Paco Gómez and his book Los Modlin.

The hundred workers from our company had volunteered to sign up for this activity in September, through the UGT Union Branch. In exchange, they each received a copy of Gómez’s book to read. Our team members at the Valencia factory were later able to enjoy this entire day dedicated to books and culture, including a discussion of the book’s contents with the author himself.

The Anastasio de Gracias Foundation has been promoting the habit of reading among industrial workers for almost a decade, under the slogan “Fotolee!” (Photo Read). For this edition, the campaign decided to use a  photobook – a genre that is still greatly overlooked by the publishing world, despite growing interest from the public. Last year, the Books for Factories initiative received the National Award for the Promotion of Reading, awarded by Spain’s Ministry of Sports and Culture.

The main aim of the initiative is to promote reading as an essential part of Garnica’s corporate social responsibility, and with good reason, since the average worker spends one-third of their life at work. The initiative also seeks to train leaders to promote reading within the workplace; to encourage workers to set short- and medium-term reading goals for themselves and their families; and, lastly, to establish the idea that, in societies where people don’t read, we should all promote reading in our own social circles.