PREPARATIONS for a major continental literacy forum have received a major boost after Oxford University Press announced sponsorship deal.
The ninth Pan-African Literacy for All and 10th Reading Association of South Africa (RASA) National Literacy Conference will host some of the leading thinkers on literacy in Cape Town from 2-5 September.
The conference theme is Imagination and Literacy: Theory and Practice.
Lieze Kotze, Regional Director, Africa, for Oxford University Press, said the organization believed that reading took people to places.
“It’s the building block for all other learning, so it is an honour for Oxford to keep the conversation going. This conference will help to unlock the power of imagination through literacy; making a difference to education across the African continent.”
Oxford University Press is sponsoring the event in line with its commitment to education in Africa. It has been active in the continent for 100 years, and its titles are published or sold in most African countries.
The event will provide a forum for teachers, teacher educators, writers, librarians, researchers, academics, publishers, parents and children and local and international development workers to showcase research, practice and innovative literacy strategies that imaginatively engage literacy development across Africa.
Keynote speakers will include International Literacy Association Director Marcie Craig Post, South African activist and storyteller Gcina Mhlophe, research professors Barbara Comber (Australia), Viv Edwards (UK) and Kieran Egan (Canada), as well as principal of the St Mary’s Junior School in Waverley, Johannesburg, Desiree Hugo.
Pan-African Literacy for All conferences, are important literacy events in Africa, providing a platform for literacy professionals and researchers to interface with policy makers in government and the donor community.
They have taken place every two years since 1999 in countries including Botswana, Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Swaziland and Uganda.