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IBBY South Africa calls on all southern African literacy organisations to apply for the IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award.

For more information on the award, please see the following message from Ahmad Redza Ahmad Khairuddin, President of the 2020 IBBY Reading Promotion Award Jury:

“The Award is given biennially to a group or institution, which by their outstanding activities are judged by the Jury to be making a lasting contribution to book promotion programmes for children and young people. The prize-winning organization will receive a diploma and a sum of US$ 10,000.00, which is generously given by the Asahi Shimbun Newspaper Company of Japan. The decision of the Jury will be announced at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair in 2020 and subsequently celebrated at the IBBY Congress in Moscow, Russia in September 2020.

The Jury will select the recipient of the Award at its meeting in September 2019 in China. The following IBBY Executive Members constitute the Jury: Anastasia Arkhipova (Russia), Carole Bloch (South Africa), Sophie Hallam (UK), Basarat Midhat Kazim (Pakistan), Nora Lía Sormani (Argentina) and myself, Redza Khairuddin (Malaysia) as the Jury President.

The Award enjoys a good reputation because of the high standard of nominations for
this prestigious prize in former years.”

You can download the IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award Regulations here. Please return the completed application form to IBBY SA by e-mail on ibbysa@ibbysa.org.za before the deadline of 14 June 2019. Each national section of IBBY is invited to nominate a total of two organisations for consideration for the 2020 award.

In response to the waves of refugees from Africa and the Middle East arriving on the Italian island of Lampedusa, IBBY International launched the project “Silent Books, from the world to Lampedusa and back” in 2012. The project involved creating the first library on Lampedusa to be used by local and immigrant children. The second part required creating a collection of wordless picture books that could be understood and enjoyed by children regardless of language.

Following the success of the first call for books, there has since been two additional collections of ‘Silent Books’.  Each collection is divided into three sets; one set delivered to the library on Lampedusa, another deposited at the documentation and research archive in Rome (Palazzo della Esposizioni) and the last set forms part of a travelling exhibition of wordless picture books. This third set has toured as an exhibition at various venues in Italy and all over the world, as well as being displayed at the Bologna Book Fair and at the IBBY Congresses in New Zealand and Greece.

In July of 2018 IBBY Italia raised another call for submissions and thanks to generous donations from local literacy organisations, Collaborate and Book Dash, IBBY South Africa was able to facilitate the donation of a number of locally produced wordless children’s picture books to this worthy cause.

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Phendulani Literary Quiz. Founded in 2008 by Marj Brown, Head of History at Roedean School, the Phendulani Quizzes take place all over the country and offer learners an incentive to read and engage with the world of stories.

Brown started the quiz with two goals: improving literacy levels and vocabulary; and improving emotional intelligence, creativity and global understanding. “It is through stories that children from under-resourced schools can travel the world and learn about others, enhancing tolerance and understanding,” she says.

This year featured quizzes at schools in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth and smaller cities such as Knysna, Margate, Nelspruit, Pietermaritzburg and Bergville. The Phendulani Quiz sees an active improvement among participating schools. According to Brown, schools that have participated for a number of years have shown a rise in scores of between 30% and 40%.

IBBY SA would like to extend a hearty congratulations to Marj Brown and all of the volunteers and sponsors who have helped the Phendulani Quiz grow and foster a love of reading in South African youth over the last ten years.

IBBY South Africa is proud to announce that MOENIE HIERDIE BOEK EET NIE! by Jaco Jacobs, illustrated by Zinelda McDonald and published by LAPA Publishers, is the winner of the 2017 Exclusive Books IBBY SA Award.

Tracing back to 2007, this prize is awarded every two years to the writer and illustrator of the best children’s picture book or illustrated book for young people.

Nominations for the 2019 award will be called for in January of next year.

The International Picture Book Illustration Concours, known as Nami Concours 2019 is now open for submissions until 31 August 2018.

Organised every two years by Nami Island, Korea, the International Nami Concours aims to encourage artists’ creativity and contribute to the advancement of the quality of picture book illustrations.