Literature Conference| Rethinking Contemporary Literature for Children and Young Adults in Africa | International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Africa Region.

The 4^th International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) Africa Region Conference holds in Kampala, Uganda between 22nd and 24th August, 2017. The theme of the conference is “Rethinking Contemporary Literature for Children and Young Adults in Africa”

Other sub-topics of discussion at the conference are:        

1. Authorship, illustrations and publishing
2. Language and children’s literature
3. Oral traditions and children’s literature
4. Book trade in Africa and beyond
5. Intellectual property and business models
6. ICTs, publishing innovations and new value chains and
7. Research on Literature for children and young people

The speakers from Africa and beyond are to share from the perspective of their personal or national experiences as well as what changes may be required to better literature for children and young adults and its distribution across the continent.

The IBBY Africa Regional Conference which is the largest conference for writers and publishers of literature for children and young people on the African continent, is held every two years

The IBBY Africa Regional Conference is a biannual largest gathering of writers and publishers of literature for children and young people on the African Continent. The focus is on writing and publishing books for children and young adults on the continent. It has been held in South Africa in 2011 and 2013 and Rwanda in 2015 while it holds this year in Uganda.

This conference is organized by International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY), Uganda Chapter, in collaboration with Uganda Children’s Writers and Illustrators Association (UCWIA), National Book Trust of Uganda (NABOTU) , Uganda Reproduction Rights Organisation (URRO), Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) and National Library, Uganda .

The organiser said the gathering has come at the right time, especially when children and young adults under 15 years dominate the demographics of the continent constituting over 50%. However authors and publishers are yet to cash in on this huge market potential. This failure is attributed to several factors including a narrow range of titles in the different African languages available to the age group, a broken book value chain, high book prices inconsiderate of incomes in Africa and growing concerns about inability to read and write.

IBBY noted that whilst the book publishing industry has been stagnating, information and communication technology, especially the mobile phone has taken Africa by storm. ICT innovations such as social media have sparked a revolution in communication, and transformed the way young Africans communicate and share information with one another. This very interesting development is shaping authorship and publishing culture on the continent in significant ways. It also represents a unique challenge that calls for innovative thinking on business models and the emergence of new value chains for trade in content.

During the conference, there will be an exhibition of conference posters, unpublished manuscripts authored by children and published literature by publishers from all over Africa. The book fair is expected to attract parents, schools and other persons with interest in books and reading.