Bonn is an international city with the headquarters of the United Nations and multinational companies; people from almost every country in the world live here. Multilingualism is therefore a reality for many Bonn residents. Even for the youngest. This is where the Polylino picture book app comes in: Polylino is easy to use and offers simple access to more than 1,700 children's books for reading, reading aloud or listening to. It is suitable for private use by families and for educational institutions, for which it provides additional functions. Mayor Katja Dörner invited primary school children and their families to a matinee at the art museum to get to know the Polylino app.
"As Mayor of Bonn, I am delighted that since the beginning of this year we have been the first and so far only German municipality to be able to offer the Polylino app free of charge to all children and families in Bonn," said Mayor Katja Dörner in her welcoming address. Last year, the Polylino app was already used more than 60,000 times by Kita and elementary school in Bonn that took part in the pilot project. As the feedback from the daycare centers and schools was so positive and everyone involved wanted to be able to continue using the Polylino app in practice, the city of Bonn has decided to provide all children with permanent access as part of Polylino Bonn - Alle lesen from this year onwards. "This is also an important building block as a child-friendly municipality, to which the city of Bonn will be awarded at the beginning of March," continued the mayor. Polylino is supported by the Digital Transformation Programme Office and is a good example of how digitalization can support sustainable urban development.
In addition to the German picture book texts, the app also offers an audio read-aloud function for most books, not only in German, but for many books in over 70 languages. 18 books are also available in sign language, making an important contribution to the right to education and participation. Polylino Bonn complements the extensive range of media offered by the central library in the Haus der Bildung and the eight city libraries in all four city districts, where interested parties can easily apply for free access to Polylino Bonn.
Following the welcome address, Mayor Katja Dörner read from her book "Pablo's Piñata" together with children's author Arzu Gürz Abay. They gave a live demonstration of how the Polylino app works. After the matinee, the art museum invited all guests young and old to view the exhibition free of charge. In addition, there is now a Polylino reading station in the children's area of the art museum. This makes the museum not only a place to encounter art and literature, but also a municipal institution that offers free public access to Polylino, the multilingual digital library for children.
On Tuesday, February 18, 2025, the Inclusion Office and the Kunstmuseum Bonn invite educational professionals and multipliers to an information event about Polylino Bonn - Alle lesen.
Further information can be found at www.bonn.de/polylino-bonn. (opens in a new tab)