STUDENTS of all abilities from Seaforth, Johns Town, and Morant Bay primary schools in St Thomas gathered at the Teen Hub in Morant Bay recently for the first Inclusive Children’s Book Festival, a pioneering collaboration between UNICEF Jamaica and the Jamaica Book Festival.

The one-day festival celebrated accessible storytelling and digital literacy for children ages 4-12, including those living with disabilities.

Students, teachers, parents, and other education stakeholders were introduced to the innovative Learning Passport Jamaica (https://jamaica.learningpassport.org) platform and the Accessible Digital Textbook (ADT) project, gaining insights into how both initiatives promote literacy and foster positive digital reading habits among children.

Through interactive reading sessions, digital exploration, and engaging activities they also experienced first-hand how inclusive tools can transform learning.

Speaking at the event Rebecca Tortello, education specialist at UNICEF Jamaica, emphasised the importance of using technology to level the playing field in literacy by making educational and cultural resources accessible to all.

“Technology is helping us make it possible for all children to access content and learn at home, at school, and in our communities — at any time,” said Tortello.

“ADTs and the Jamaica Learning Passport with features like voice-to-text and sign language interpretation are allowing us to meet every student’s learning needs, especially those who are living with disabilities, and reluctant readers,” added Tortello.

For the Jamaica Book Festival team, the event marked a new and meaningful partnership in their efforts to transform the national literacy landscape with a focus on inclusion.

“We are honoured that UNICEF invited us to partner on this pioneering project, a historic first in Jamaica,” said Latoya West-Blackwood, founder and director of the Jamaica Book Festival. “Conceptualising this festival with UNICEF was one thing, but to see it come to life unlocked a new level of motivation for our team. This was needed, timely, and welcomed by the participants in the pilot. Inclusion is at the heart of our work, and we look forward to building on that and supporting the creation and sharing of stories for all,” added West-Blackwood.

The festival also saw the launch of UNICEF Jamaica’s Summer Spark Challenge 2025 campaign, a social media-based initiative combating the “summer slide” — the learning loss that can occur during long school breaks.

Each week, students solve math word problems featuring characters from the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information’s Literacy 123 series, available via BookFusion on the Learning Passport Jamaica platform. They then visit the platform to read the books and answer questions for a chance to win prizes.

The challenge also encourages parents and caregivers to join their children, making learning a fun family activity throughout the summer. Winners will be announced in September.

The Inclusive Children’s Book Festival and the Summer Spark Challenge reflect a shared commitment by UNICEF Jamaica, the Jamaica Book Festival, the education ministry, and BookFusion to reimagine how children experience books, learning and storytelling, ensuring that every child, regardless of ability, has access to enriching and empowering content.