ADEA and USAID/GBA lead participants to validate the AU Continental Framework on Book and Reading Policies for Africa
Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) 25th June 2019 – Participants at the just-concluded workshop in Nairobi on National Book and Reading Policies for Africa have validated the African Union (AU) continental framework to support quality education for national development. The Association for the Development of Education in Africa (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 (AUC), with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Global Book Alliance (GBA) initiative. The workshop, held under the auspices of ADEA’s Books and Learning Materials (BLM) section of the Inter-Country Quality Node on Teaching and Learning (ICQN-TL) was successfully held at the Parkinn by Radisson Hotel in Westlands Nairobi, Kenya from 17th to 19th June 2019.
This key meeting is part of the long-lasting partnership between ADEA and USAID under the GBA initiative. It is a culmination of activities built on the gains made thus far, in following the Action Plan developed by ADEA and USAID in January 2018.
Dr. Belio Kipsang, Principal Secretary in the Kenya Ministry of Education’s State Department for Early Learning and Basic Education officially opened the workshop. He recognized the strategic role the book publishing industry plays in the provision of quality education and in national development. To this end, he committed that the Ministry of Education shall “deploy all resources necessary to formulate and implement a national book and reading policy for Kenya.”
Talking about the importance of this meeting, Ms. Linda Hiebert, Senior Advisor for the Global Book Alliance declared that the workshop offered a significant development in the search for real solutions in book publishing and in nurturing the culture of reading.
Mr. Albert Nsengyumva, Executive Secretary of ADEA said that there is an intrinsic link between books, reading and sustainable development. He assured the meeting of the Association’s unwavering support to member countries in their efforts to formulate national book and reading policies.
On the aspect of financing education and research, Dr. Beatrice Njenga, Head of Education Division in AUC’s Human Resources, Science and Technology Department said that the workers of today’s global economy require a different set of skills and knowledge. She called for Africa to reverse its marginalization in the world economy by investing in well-equipped libraries in schools, as well as in research and development.
During the Workshop, ADEA and USAID signed an agreement to support the Continental Framework for National Book and Reading Policies that participants had interrogated in round-table discussions and eventually adopted. The Framework provides a road map for African member countries to formulate National Book and Reading Policies that will enable each country to address the various challenges facing the book publishing industry, a key sector for the achievement of quality education for economic, social, cultural development. In support of the Framework, AUC launched a CESA Reading Culture Cluster that will complement the activities of stakeholders in the book industry as they support governments towards formulating National Book and Reading Policies.
The 42 participants from both Francophone and Anglophone African countries, international organizations and local NGOs also discussed the need to ensure that Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the 2030 Agenda will not lag behind in knowledge creation, production, distribution, dissemination and use in response to the 21stcentury demands for national development. The participating countries were Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, and Uganda.
At the end of the workshop, participants had a clear understanding of the strategic role the book publishing industry and a public reading sector play in national development. This is in addition to having an appreciation of the need for National Book and Reading Policies (NBRP) and the place, role and importance of books in national languages in the development of a sustainable literate environment. Delegates also owned the validated Framework and the accompanying harmonized formulation.
▸ See more photos at http://bit.ly/2WV7kas
For more information, please contact:
- Lily Nyariki, Focal point of the ADEA for Anglophone countries on Books and Learning Material Section, Eldoret, Kenya, Tel.: (+254) 733 712117 / (+254) 706 569 707, lmnyariki@gmail.com/ l.nyariki@adeanet.org
- Aliou Sow, Focal point of ADEA for Francophone countries on Books and Learning Material Section. Tel.: (+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. It is a partnership bringing together African policymakers in charge of education, science and technology; development cooperation partners; researchers and education technical experts. 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 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 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.
