Reading conference in offing

By Anthony Mugeere The second Pan African reading conference will be held in Abuja, Nigeria from October 7-12. The conference, whose theme will be, "Pan African Reading for all: Building communities where literacy thrives" is a follow-up to the first Pan African Conference on children's reading held in Pretoria, South Africa in August 1999. According to the secretary of the Reading Association of Uganda (RAU), Mrs. Loy Tumusiime, the Abuja conference will enable participants share various innovative models of literacy development. "Organisers expect that the conference will help in spreading successful professional development methodology," she said. "Delegates will also establish a strong network among educators and educational organisations to further the practices and skills acquired." Over 100 delegates from Africa, Europe and the United States of America (USA) are expected to attend the conference. They include educators, writers and booksellers and publishers, among others. It is being organised by the International Development Committee in Africa (IDC-A) under the auspices of the Reading Association of Nigeria (RAN). Uganda is an affiliate of the IDC-A. A number of organisations have pledged to support the five-day event. They include Shell Petroleum Development Corporation SPDC (Nigeria), Unicef and Unesco. The Federal Ministry of Education of Nigeria and other local banks have also expressed their intention to sponsor the event. Tumusiime, who is a member of the IDC-A said the Ugandan contingent to the conference will be drawn from the Reading Association of Uganda, Ministry of Education and Sports and other stakeholders. The third Pan African conference, expected to be held in 2003 may come to East Africa with Uganda the leading candidate to host the event, Tumusiime said. "(But) this will only be possible if the present stamina and motivation in promoting a reading culture in East Africa is maintained as symbolised by the recent formulation of East African Book Development Association," she added in a press release. Ends