Syed Najam, a Pakistani Canadian national from Calgary, Canada, has gained global recognition for his Multicultural Street Library project.
The project was initiated when Najam realized that new immigrant families in Canada, especially seniors, youth, and children, face challenges finding books in their own languages. To address this issue, he conceived the idea of an outdoor library that caters to people who speak different languages, as Canada is a highly multicultural country.
He collected books in various languages and requested community members to donate their surplus books to create his first outdoor Multicultural Street Library on his front lawn in 2018. The library was equipped with chairs, a coffee table, and refreshments for people to read comfortably and socialize with other readers.
The idea was highly successful, and he donated 28 libraries to different cities and towns in Canada. He now aims to introduce this concept to Pakistan and is searching for places to build and install Multicultural Outdoor Libraries in the country to provide collections of books in different languages.
The project aims to promote reading, inspire a love of books, and bring communities together in a positive way.
