On February 16 at the Oles Honchar Kherson Regional Universal Scientific Library there was held an event in remembrance of the famous English humanist John Howard (1726-1790), who died and was buried in Kherson. Organizers: Education Department of Kherson City Council, Kherson Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Public Movement "Revival of Kherson", Kherson Regional State Archives. The First Howard Readings were attended by over than 80 people: historians, archivists, teachers and students of Kherson universities and schools, representatives of public organizations.

A Skype-communication with British writer Ms Tessa West, whose book “The Curious Mr Howard. Legendary Prison Reformer” was presented this day, became a peculiarity of the event. Tessa West gathered information about Howard all over the Europe for few years, in order to write his biography. In 2010 she visited Kherson. Kherson City Council, Kherson Chamber of Commerce and Industry and local historians helped her to finish gathering materials for her book. Biography of John Howard compiled by Ms West was published in Great Britain in 2011. Specialists from Faculty of Translation / Interpretation Studies of Kherson State University with the support of Kherson CCI are working at translation of this book from English to Russian.

"Kherson Mechanical Plant" Ltd. bought from a British publishing house few copies of «The Curious Mr Howard», which will be given to Kherson high school № 6, the Kherson Museum of Regional Studies and Kherson department of State Penitentiary System.

The event began from reading out the speech of Mr Dave Hodgson, the Mayor of Bedford, (Howard's native town). Then spoke Kherson historian Mr Serhey Diachenko and archival researchers Ms Marina Tarasova and Ms Elena Stoukalova. Their speeches were related to historical evidences of Howard's stay in Kherson as well as of remembrance of him in Kherson and England. There also were demonstrated archival documents about building  the monument on Howard's grave.
John Howard's charity activities were many-sided, but he always paid particular attention to prisons. He acknowledged the need for prisons, but demanded to treat prisoners humanely, to rehabilitate them with work and discipline. That's why the deputy head of the Kherson department of State Penitentiary System Mr Sergei Chabanyuk joined Howard Readings too. Regional department of SPS   organized an exhibition prisoners' art.

The head of the foreign literature department of Kherson Regional Children's Library Ms Anna Reznik told about creative project of library's English club. This project means that members of the English club will study different print and electronic sources in order to gather information about Howard. Students of Kherson schools № 30 and № 31, Stepanovka school № 17 presented their own research works and projects dedicated to the great philanthropist. The student of the high school № 6 put forward the initiative to name their school after John Howard.

Kherson has the potential and opportunities to become a region which is attractive to European tourist. But realization of this potential requires an infrastructure development and creation of new tour itineraries dedicated to famous historical figures who lived in Kherson. Head of the Kherson Branch of Ukrainian Designers Association Mr Vitaliy Kryzhanovsky presented a project proposal of the Kherson City Brand «Kherson – Time by the Sun» in connection with the sundial built in our city inremembrance of John Howard.

In order to increase the investment attractiveness of the Kherson region in the run-up to the Euro-2012 Public Movement "Revival of Kherson" put forward the initiative to hold a competition of business projects "Tourist route with infrastructure "John Howard –Kherson – the City of the Sun" for individuals, public organizations, entrepreneurs, historians.