Côte d’Ivoire and Rwanda partner with ADEA, USAID and AUC to organize follow up technical seminars on National Book and Reading Policies in Africa
Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) 27 November 2019 – The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) through the Global Book Alliance (GBA) and the African Union Commission (AUC), in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Rwanda and the Ministry of Culture and Francophonie of Côte d’Ivoire, are planning in their respective countries a follow up Technical Seminar on National Book and Reading Policies (NBRP) in Africa, to support quality education for national development through improved literacy. The two seminars are organized by ADEA’s Books and Learning Materials (BLM) section of the Inter-Country Quality Node on Teaching and Learning (ICQN-TL), and will be held in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) at the African Development Bank’s CCIA Building from 5th to 6th December 2019 and in Kigali (Rwanda) – thanks to the support of Save the Children – from 9th to 10th December 2019 at the Hotel Serena.
In June 2019, participants in the ADEA high-level workshop in Nairobi on National Book and Reading Policies for Africa validated the African Union (AU) continental framework to support quality education for national development. ADEA facilitated the framework’s validation by organizing the workshop in close collaboration with the Ministry of Education of Kenya and the African Union Commission, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under the Global Book Alliance (GBA) initiative.
To this end, both seminars in Abidjan and Kigali aim to popularize and ensure the adoption and buy-in of this continental framework to guide the development of national book and reading policies in the following 16 initial African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, Republic of Congo, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Uganda.
Specifically, the two seminars seek to:
- Adopt the AU Continental Framework for National Book and Reading Policy.
- Discuss and agree on a harmonized approach to formulate NBRP strategies for each African country.
- Present a toolkit to guide the formulation of national book and reading policies.
- Discuss and agree on the need to establish National Book Development Council as the coordinating agency in each African country.
- Influence participating countries to commit towards policy formulation as a matter of priority.
ADEA is actively collaborating with the African Union Commission and other key partners at the country level to advocate for the adoption of the Continental Framework for National Book and Reading Policies, and support the formulation of the respective national policies.
For more information, please contact:
- Lily Nyariki, ICQN-TL’s Focal Point of the Books and Learning Materials section (Anglophone countries), T.(+254) 733 712117 / (+254) 706 569 707, lmnyariki@gmail.com / l.nyariki@adeanet.org
- Aliou Sow, ICQN-TL’s Focal Point of the Books and Learning Materials section (Francophone countries), T. (+224) 622 54 48 26, aliou2sow@yahoo.fr
Media:
- Stefano De Cupis, Senior Communications Officer, ADEA, T. (+225) 2026 4261, s.decupis@afdb.org
About ADEA
The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is the voice of education in Africa and a key network of Education Ministries. It plays a significant role in the education space as a convener, knowledge creator and forum for policy dialogue, working through its Inter-Country Quality Nodes (ICQNs) and the Task Force on Education Management and Policy Support. ADEA contributes to the empowerment of African countries to develop quality education and training systems that respond to the countries' emergent needs and drive social and economic transformation sustainably.
About ICQN-TL-BLM
The ADEA’s Books and Learning Materials section (BLM) of the Inter-Country Quality Node on Teaching and Learning (ICQN-TL) is committed to supporting processes conducive to formulating adequate national book policies that improve the provision of good quality educational materials, effective schooling, and literacy across Africa. It strives to accomplish this by calling on governments, the private sector, development agencies, and civil society to consider a holistic approach that includes substantial input from African partners to achieve viable book policies.
About AU
Africa Union’s objective is to rid the continent of the remaining vestiges of colonization and apartheid; to promote unity and solidarity among African States; to coordinate and intensify cooperation for development; to safeguard the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member States and to promote international cooperation within the framework of the United Nations. As a continental organization, AU provides an effective forum that enables all Member States to adopt coordinated positions on matters of common concern to the continent in international fora and defend the interests of Africa effectively.
About GBA
The Global Book Alliance is an international effort involving multiple stakeholders working to transform book development, procurement, distribution, and use to ensure that no child is without books. Its mission is to guarantee that children everywhere have the books and learning materials they need to learn to read and read to learn. New and innovative solutions are needed to solve the learning crisis, and the Global Book Alliance is taking the lead on identifying and implementing these solutions.
