Global Book Alliance: ADEA and USAID hold an in-country Workshop on Bloom Publishing Software for national language writers in Conakry (Guinea)
Abidjan (Côte d'Ivoire), 22 November 2018 – The Books and Learning Materials (BLM) section of the Inter-Country Quality Node on Teaching and Learning (ICQN-TL) of the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) is organizing an “In-country workshop for guineans writers in national languages” in Conakry (Guinea) from 28th November to 1st December 2018 at the University of Conakry. This workshop addressed to Guinean writers in national languages, is already the fifth in a series aimed at empowering African writers to use the Bloom publishing software for the easy creation of reading materials for children. This training is part of the ongoing partnership between the Global Book Alliance (GBA) and ADEA, supported by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
The Global Book Alliance aims to transform book development, procurement and distribution, especially in Africa and Asia, to ensure that children everywhere have the essential books and learning materials produced in languages children use and understand, including braille and sign language. Several studies have shown that in many developing countries, children do not have reading materials in languages they speak and understand, while these tools facilitate the early acquisition of reading. To this end, USAID and partners have developed an ambitious program to address the scarcity of titles in African languages, improve the efficiency of procurement and financing and strengthen supply chain management systems.
Conakry's national workshop on Bloom – the free and open source publishing software that allows individuals and communities to build their own library of reading materials, dictionaries or resources by grade level in their own language – will be facilitated by Mr. Aguibou Sow aka Mo Kulete, a Guinean teacher, writer, and also literacy trainer.
The main objective of this workshop is to provide first-hand training to enable 20 Guinean authors of early grade reading materials to produce more and better books in national languages.
The Workshop will take place on the margins of the second edition of the Conakry International Children's Book Fair held on the same dates, at the Center culturel franco-guinéen (CCFG), and in partnership with Ganndal Publishing, organizer of the Book Fair.
For more information, please contact:
- Aliou Sow, Focal point of the Books and Learning Materials section of the ADEA’s Inter-Country Quality Node on Teaching and Learning (ICQN-TL), T. (+224) 622 54 48 26 / (+001) 514 803 6190, 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 a forum for policy dialogue, composed of all Ministers in charge of Education, Science and Technology in Africa. Established in 1988 at the instigation of the World Bank Group, it has evolved into a pan-African institution based within the African Development Bank Group (AfDB). ADEA’s work has expanded to focus more on the development of skills and competencies across all the education sub-sectors in particular through its two fundamental pillars, namely: the continental education platform and consultancy and support services. It envisions a “high-quality African education and training system that is geared towards the promotion of critical knowledge and skills for accelerated and sustainable development in Africa”.
About ICQN-TL BLM: The ADEA’s ICQN-TL section on Books and Learning Materials (BLM) 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 sub-Saharan Africa. It strives to accomplish this by calling on governments, the private sector, development agencies, and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) to consider a holistic approach that includes substantial input from African partners to achieve viable book policies. The BLM section of the ICQN-TL is the implementing arm for this project.
www.adeanet.org/en/working-groups/books-and-learning-materials
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. The lack of reading materials is so severe that it cannot be solved without new and innovative solutions. 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.
