Advancing digital equity and literacy through mother tongue children’s books
HP and NABU collaborated with Wrexham AFC to encourage reading and bilingual literacy, publishing a Welsh-English children’s book to empower young readers.
HP, Wrexham AFC, and NABU came together to promote literacy in Wrexham’s local community, recognizing that accessibility is a critical building block of digital equity. Featuring side-by-side English and Welsh text, we published “The Lucky Dragon”, an entertaining intended to ignite the hearts and minds of young Welsh readers and take inspiration from Wrexham AFC, a source of pride for the community.
The digital divide impacts accessibility to technology and ultimately creates barriers for learning and growing, including literacy. Through access to culturally relevant, digital educational materials, we hope to inspire children's literacy around the world. This is another step toward HP’s broader goal of accelerating digital equity for 150 million people by 2030. Since the beginning of 2021, we’ve reached more than 45 million people with HP digital equity programs and partnerships. Digital Equity is when we are all globally able to overcome accessibility barriers to technology and Internet connectivity, and HP continues to work towards its accessibility goals, having reached 45 million people through 2023 with its digital equity programs and partnerships.
HP focuses on groups that have historically or systematically been unable to connect. This includes women and girls, historically marginalized communities, teachers and educators, and healthcare practitioners on the front lines. It also includes groups that are composed of people with disabilities, aging populations, those groups that really have the need for greater access and are trying to find a way to secure it.
Digital equity is important because it emphasizes connectivity- the ability to work, communicate, participate in the economy, learn, and grow. We believe steadfast that our ability to be connected empowers and inspires individuals.
About NABU and their mission to advance digital equity
NABU, a nonprofit tech-enabled publisher of multilingual children’s books, aligns with HP’s goal to accelerate digital equity.
NABU is on a mission to advance equality by solving the global literacy crisis through its free educational platform. NABU publishes original, engaging stories in mother tongue (native) languages that can be accessed through an app, web reader, and print. Their solution bridges opportunity gaps for historically excluded children and families by engaging readers through localized storytelling and providing support for learning. By empowering children to learn to read in their mother tongue language first, NABU allows children to grow confidence in their reading abilities, feel pride in their culture, and inspire them to expand their learning and reading abilities. NABU’s goal is to ensure 25 million children have access to literacy by 2030, in harmony with HP’s vision to accelerate digital equity for tens of millions of people globally.
Together, HP and NABU have established the NABU HP Creative Labs, physical spaces equipped with HP technology used to empower authors and illustrators to create hundreds of children’s books each year in mother tongue languages.
Collaboration with NABU and Wrexham AFC on Welsh children’s book
HP, Wrexham AFC, and NABU collaborated to create “The Lucky Dragon”, a bilingual children's book that follows a young girl living in Wrexham who faces misfortune ahead of her upcoming football match – until her grandfather gifts her a stuffed red dragon, bringing luck not only to her family but also the community.
As part of HP's role as Global Technology Partner to Wrexham AFC and its pledge to support the community in meaningful ways, this initiative celebrates Wrexham, the Welsh language, and promotes bilingual literacy among Welsh children aged 6-10. Through HP’s longstanding partnership with NABU, this initiative promotes bilingual literacy and digital equity through digitally accessible and culturally relevant literature.
This initiative is important in furthering Welsh heritage, culture, and language. With fewer speakers of this native tongue language, the Welsh Government set a goal to increase the number of native speakers and has been integrating the language into primary school curriculum. “The Lucky Dragon” helps to advance learning opportunities through its bilingual publication.
We recognize the importance of strengthening childhood literacy and preserving cultural heritage and community, and we’re proud that we were able to collaborate closely with our partners to bring to life this Welsh story. It is essential to leverage partnerships and collaborations to make an impact. We are delighted that together we can accelerate digital equity and advance literacy in a locally relevant way.