by K. Astre
On Saturday, the 20th October 2018, the Gauteng Department of Education (GDE) will be hosting a School Library and Reading Summit under the “Read to Lead Campaign.” The summit’s theme is Transforming Libraries into Reading Hubs.
The theme was prompted by a recent audit of the library systems in Gauteng performed by the Department of Basic Education (DBE). The audit revealed that out of 2043 schools in Gauteng, only 240 have a functioning library leaving approximately 88% of learners without access to resources that are critical for their intellectual development. In response to this disparity, the DBE launched the 1000 School Libraries Campaign in 2015 to stimulate the creation of functional libraries in Gauteng schools. The summit comes on the heel and call of these efforts.
Education officials, teachers, learners, school governing body members, parents, publishers, authors and organisations that promote children’s literacy are invited to attend and to deliberate on the role of school libraries in the 21st century including the importance of reading for enjoyment in developing literacy skills.
Puku Children’s Literature Foundation has partnered with the GDE to continue to emphasize the importance of developing children’s writing skills and encouraging kids to read for pleasure. We believe that giving them easy access to books in their mother tongue is possible with the continued development of library services and resources.
The program is poised to enlighten, inform, and entertain. Included will be a keynote address by Executive Director for Puku, Elinor Sisulu, the reading of the Ambassador’s address by Sindiwe Magona, presentation of the summit declaration by all learners, and ending with vote of thanks by Mr Mish Tshabalala, District Director: Johannesburg West.
The event promises to embody and promote the collective vision of South Africa to increase literacy levels and equip its provinces with the tools and resources needed to do so.
See the programme here: School Library And Reading Summit Programme(Booklet.final)
