ADEA advocates book industry for African education system - African authors, publishers, printers, booksellers (distributors) and representatives of libraries and book development councils are scheduled to attend a seminar on books and educational materials Monday in Nairobi, Kenya, organized by Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA).

Representatives of Ministries of Education, Culture, Justice as well as the development partners will also participate in the conference which is intended to be a forum for 'dialogue' between stakeholders on issues related to the roles of the the book industry in sustainable development and the various roles and responsibilities implied.

The absence of an endogenous dynamic book industry, lack of books and the gradual disappearance of the reading culture in Africa remain challenges facing African countries in the acquisition of knowledge and critical skills, a source close to the organizers said. 

The UNESCO in 1997 noted that due to underdevelopment and poverty, as well as a series of aggravating factors, many developing countries are still unable to provide students with all necessary textbooks.

ADEA attributes the origin of this challenge to the fact that the sectors of education and books are usually managed by two separate entities with divergent interests and as a result, there is no consensus on the how they should work harmoniously toward a common goal.

'On the one hand, we have the book industry, largely managed by the private sector often profit-oriented and, on the other, the education sector, often public and non-profit. None of them receive clear guidelines on how they could work together for their mutual benefit and the benefit of the education system,' according to ADEA.

Moreover, very few African countries have responded to the call launched by UNESCO to set up national book development councils (CNPL) charged with providing the regulatory mechanisms necessary to maintain harmony and a more efficient and effective coordination of the book industry

The Nairobi forum is therefore timely to bring together all stakeholders and all the key players in the book industry for a political dialogue on the strategic repositioning of the continent to take control of a vital sector of development and build a consensus on the way forward for the creation of an enabling environment for reading culture in Africa.

Organizers said the forum would lead to action plans for the continued ADEA support to African countries in formulating and reviewing policies in the book sector, and strengthening partnerships between governments, members of the African Publishers Network (APNET) and the Pan-African Booksellers Association (PABA).

The action plans, which will also take into account the acceleration of publication of books and reading materials in national mother tongues, in collaboration with the African Academy of Languages, a specialized agency of the African Union, will serve as a basis for developing a document that will be debated at the 2012 forum in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Pana 03/10/2011