2000 Zimbabwe International Book Fair
The Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF) is Africa's publishing showcase, the largest and most diverse exhibition of books, magazines and journals in Africa. In addition to being a market place, it embraces a varied program of seminars, workshops and round tables on different aspects of book development. For several years now, the Books Working Group has collaborated with ZIBF in the organization of the Indaba which is held during the Fair. This year, these sessions explored book distribution and inter-ministerial collaboration in that area, as well as economic policies and their impact on the intra-African book trade.
This year again, the ADEA Books Working Group facilitated three panel sessions during the Indaba ("Indaba" means "conference" in Bantu language), which preceded the Fair at the end of July 2000. Under the Indaba theme, the Millennium Market Place, the Working Group was asked to organize the sessions concerned with policy and access issues, and succeeded in assembling panelists from nine different countries for the purpose (Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Guinea and Namibia).
Indaba sessions focus on improving book distribution and the intra-African book trade
The theme of the first session, Improving Book Distribution in Africa, used a recent ADEA study of the problem as background material. Three of the researchers, Frank Segbawu (Sedco Publishing, Ghana), Gaulphine Nyirenda (Maneno Enterprises, Malawi), and Mamadou Aliou Sow (Editions Ganndal, Guinea), presented their findings, with a fourth member of the research team, David Muita (Kenya Publishers' Association), in the chair.
The second session, on Regional Economic Policies and the Intra-African Book Trade, also focused on research in which the ADEA Books Working Group has been involved. Ruth Makotsi gave an overview of the second phase of the research into the intra-Africa trade in books, which APNET had undertaken with support from ADEA. Ray Munamwimbu (Zambia Educational Publishing House) and Egidio Mpanga (Dzuka Publishing, Malawi) provided updates on the APNET/ADEA "Taxes off Books" campaign in their countries, which has developed out of the dissemination of the research findings. The Secretary General for the Southern African Development Community sector for Culture, Information and Sports, Dr Renato Matusse, was in the chair and agreed to put these research findings on the agenda for the SADC Inter-Ministerial Conference on Culture in Maputo at the end of November.
The third session, Inter-Ministerial Collaboration for More Effective Book Distribution, was chaired by the guest of honor of the fair, Minister Ekwow Spio-Garbrah from Ghana. This led to a lively debate not only between the minister and publishers and booksellers from Ghana but also between Zefanias Muhate (Secretary General of the Ministry of Education in Mozambique) and a bookseller from that country, who had lost his entire stock in the terrible floods earlier in the year. Nepeti Nicanor of the Book Development Council in Windhoek gave a historical perspective of how inter-sectoral book policy has developed in Namibia, which provided some useful lessons for those concerned with book policy coordination.
The session was animated by a comprehensive lead paper presented by Laura Czerniewicz (University of Cape Town) on the ways in which different ministry policies impact on book distribution. This resulted in a number of policy issues that educators and publishers need to take into account in seeking to overcome persistent inequalities in book access [See Box: Policies for More Effective Book Distribution and Book Access, page 19].
In response to the recommendation that ADEA should strive for better media coverage, the Books Working Group also facilitated meetings for two journalists from the Ghana and Nigeria Press agencies, who were covering the ZIBF Indaba under the ADEA/World Bank COMED program. This included a press conference for the new Executive Committee of the Pan African Booksellers' Association (PABA), lead by their Chairperson, Mrs Oluronke Orimalade. Following a workshop during their convention 27-28 July on the Publishing/Bookselling Interface (which was facilitated by the Working Group), PABA members played a key role in the Indaba debates by re-iterating that booksellers in Africa should have the recognition in the book chain that they deserve.
Continuing the "Taxes Off Books" campaign
The leader of the Books Working Group gave a press interview in connection with the APNET/ADEA "Taxes Off Books" campaign, which derives from the research presented during the second Indaba session. The 3 August edition of the Zimbabwean Daily News reminded readers of the irony that while President Mugabe had made headlines during ZIBF1991 by appearing to support taxes off books and other components of book production, books in Zimbabwe have continued "to be expensive, thus excluding a considerable number of readers from accessing books, stunting the growth of a reading culture, compromising the viability of publishing in Africa."
New publications are launched
The Working Group also took the opportunity of the fair to launch its four latest publications in its Perspectives on African Book Development series. These are Expanding the Book Trade across Africa, Books for Schools, Financing Textbooks and Teacher Training Materials, and Gender-Sensitive Editing, two of which have been used during Indaba sessions in 1999 and 2000.
Although the event was clouded by the political situation (which adversely affected Zimbabwean as well as foreign participation), ZIBF2000 lived up to its reputation as a vibrant meeting place for authors, publishers, librarians, booksellers, and policy-makers from many parts of the world. The wide range of parallel activities, such as the Buyers and Sellers meeting organized by WTO, the marketing workshop, APNET's book rights workshop, the Children's Reading Tents, the School Libraries workshop, and the World Bank meeting of joint programmes for African publishers; ensured plenty of information-sharing opportunities, in addition to the actual business of the fair itself.
As Roger Kerrison, the newly elected Secretary on PABA's Executive Committee, commented, "Its flavor is unique, its people are incredibly welcoming and optimistic, even in the face of adversity. It is the spiritual, geographical, and historical home of the modern book trade in Africa. Let it remain so."
Carew Treffgarne
Leader of the ADEA Working Group on Books and Learning Materials
Policies for More Effective Book Distribution and Book Access
Listed below are major conclusions from the ZIBF2000 Indaba sessions facilitated by the ADEA Working Group on Books and Learning Materials:
- Intra-African education policies that impact on book distribution include curriculum, materials selection, school library, procurement, finance, staff development and training.
- Inter-ministerial policies that impact on book distribution include education, culture, trade and industry, sales tax/value added tax (VAT), customs and excise tariffs, local government, governance, telecommunications, finance, transport, national library systems, human resource development and training.
- Collaboration between African ministries of education can be harnessed for more effective book distribution through improved internal communication, greater commitment to information gathering and fact finding (eg bookselling networks, gaps in material provision).
- Collaboration between African ministries of education can also be harnessed to support development of a more coherent book distribution policy that adequately covers equitable and transparent procedures for book selection and procurement, drawing on publishing/bookseller partnerships.
- Increased inter-ministerial collaboration can be used to ensure that the complementary contribution of technology is effectively exploited, and that book distribution is integrated into national book, library and reading policies and campaigns.
- Inter-Ministerial committees and/or book development councils or boards, either inside or outside the ministry of education, can play a vital role in bringing all the stakeholders in the book sector together in order to improve book provision and access.
Previous Article: Guinea: A Communication Strategy to Facilitate Teacher Redeployment | Contents Page | Next Article: Fighting the Damages of AIDS to Education
![[ADEA logo]](../../pics/top_main.gif)
![[Table]](../../pics/top_right.gif)
![[ADEA Newsletter Image]](../../pics/newsletter.jpg)
