Nal’ibali offers free public performances to encourage national library usage

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Libraries across South Africa will be the scenes of a new community activation in 2019. Nal’ibali, the reading for enjoyment campaign, has teamed up with Clowns Without Borders South Africa to produce a series of literacy-focussed shows. These free performances will tour four provinces to encourage people to see their local libraries as safe, exciting community spaces for people of all ages.

 

The free 40-minute comedy shows are designed to encourage families to explore their local libraries, model good book borrowing behaviour and to encourage people to sign up for library cards. In addition to the performances, Nal’ibali will be offering free training and resources to library staff interested in running community reading clubs.

 

The performances will take place throughout 2019, touring libraries in KwaZulu-Natal, Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Gauteng for one week at a time. Shows are designed to tie-in to reading-related national events as detailed below:

 

  • 11 -15 March: KwaZulu-Natal (ahead of SA Library Week)
  • 20 -24 May: Eastern Cape (to coincide with Get Caught Reading Month)
  • 19 – 23 August Gauteng (to celebrate Book Lover’s Day on the 8th)
  • 21 – 25 October: Limpopo (to coincide with International School Library Month)

“At Nal’ibali, we want people to discover storytelling in exciting, meaningful ways, so collaborating with Clowns Without Borders made perfect sense,” says Nal’ibali Managing Director Jade Jacobsohn. “We recently celebrated World Read Aloud Day by holding a loud and joyful storytelling event for 200 children at Sandton Public Library – imagine what we can achieve in creative partnership with CWBSA!”

 

Clowns Without Borders South Africa uses creative interventions to reach children and caregivers, in a bid to reduce violent behaviour, while raise awareness around developmental issues and spread joy. They have reached nearly half a million children to date.

 

“We are excited to be raising awareness around an area of such importance in South Africa,” adds Suzan Eriksson, CWBSA Development Director. “Our experience shows us that the performing arts can be used to mobilise children and families in very effective ways”.

 

Research consistently suggests that children who read for pleasure outside of school do better academically. “However, books are an expensive and scarce resource in South Africa, placing libraries at the centre of a potential reading revolution in this country,” says Jacobsohn. “Children need safe, welcoming spaces where they can make choices about the kinds of stories they want to explore, and we are committed to helping them access that.”

 

For more information about the Nal’ibali campaign, or to access children’s stories in a range of SA languages, visit www.nalibali.org and www.nalibali.mobi or find them on Facebook and Twitter: nalibaliSA.

The Value of Small and Micro Publishers

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Small and micro publishers contribute to the world of books in important ways. They take risks and publish genres (poetry, short story collections and plays, for example) which bigger publishers are often wary of; they also publish mostly debut authors by offering them an entry point into the world of publishing.  Successfully promoted authors often go on to be published by the bigger publishing houses.

 

One such small publisher is Modjaji Books which has been around for 12 years. The publisher has travailed some challenging times and now has a fairly big list of published authors. A recent debut novel was Yewande Omotoso’s Bom Boy which went on to win awards and was short-listed for the debut Etisalat Prize. Omotoso is now with international publishers and has an agent to promote her work globally.

 

Modjaji came into being because founder, Colleen Higgs decided to start publishing the work of women. As a passionate and opinionated reader, she wanted to promote the writing of women writers in southern Africa.

 

Colleen Higgs commented, “I’ve achieved my goal of publishing the work of other women; it has been exciting, exhilarating and frightening. Part of my motivation was because of what I experienced as a writer of poetry and short fiction, and as a woman writer. I knew what obstacles I was dealing with.”

 

A particular book that kick-started Modjaji as a company was Tracey Farren’s novel Whiplash, published in 2008. In 2017 it came out as a movie, which went on to win awards and praise. As luck would have it in 2016, there was an Oscar winning movie called Whiplash, so they had to change the title to Tess for the movie tie-in edition of the book.

 

“When I first read Whiplash I felt as though I had stuck my finger into an electric socket. Tracey’s voice was strong and powerful and like nothing I had ever read in South Africa before. She was writing from the point of view of a young woman down on her luck, working as a street prostitute in Muizenberg. Even though the book is gritty and in parts tough to read, it is a “feel better” read – it changes the reader and brings us to awareness of the lives of others that we may have ignored. It is also a riveting, page-turning novel, full of feeling and heart” said Higgs.

 

Higgs shared that it was not an easy sell into stores, as many bookshops felt their customers would not be comfortable reading books like this. In spite of this, Whiplash was shortlisted for the prestigious Sunday Times Fiction Award in 2009. A shift has since happened in booksellers’ and publishers’ views about what sells in the SA market.

 

Modjaji books had the opportunity to publish the book because it was turned down by all the other publishers. Tracey has now written her third book, which Kwela is publishing this year, 2019. The rights to Snake, Tracey’s second novel have been sold to Catalyst Press in the United States of America, for publication in 2020 and Modjaji is proud that it played a part in the career of a gifted South African writer.

 

“We take risks on manuscripts we believe in. Our books are set in or give a flavor of contemporary life in southern Africa. Our books contribute to a sense of place, of here, in southern Africa now, think Love Interrupted by Reneilwe Malatji or Do Not Go Gentle by Futhi Ntshingila, and To the Black Women We All Knew by Kholofelo Maenetsha.

 

Our books offer characters, situations, contexts and place within which local readers can see themselves. Our books explore troubling issues, but also imagine new ways of being in the world, and tell us more about the world we live in, and open doors into the worlds of others with whom we live, here I’m thinking of Whiplash/Tess, Bom Boy by Yewande Omotoso and Grace by Barbara Boswell, also A Person My Colour – by Martina Dahlmanns,” concluded Higgs.

 

Modjaji titles increase awareness of women’s lives and experiences, question assigned roles, and examine issues such as women’s health, sexualities and psychologies: for example Karen Lazar’s Hemispheres, Beverly Rycroft’s missing, Michelle Hattingh’s I’m the Girl Who Was Raped and Trifonia Melibea Obono’s La Bastarda.

 

Modjaji Books is a tiny fish in a smallish pond, yet it has made an impact on the continent and internationally as a feminist publishing house. Modjaji has opened the door for writers and new publishing ventures. Many others players are publishing the kinds of books that at first were only published by Modjaji. A shining example is Blackbird Books, with a focus on black writers, many of them women, who ordinarily would probably not have been noticed 12 years ago.

 

Modjaji is a trailblaizer in its own right and has paved the way for several new poetry presses – in particular, Uhlanga, Dryad and imphepo press thanks to the pioneering work that Modjaji Books did in publishing over 40 poetry titles since 2007. Publishing can be seen as an ecosystem, and the more diverse it is, the healthier it is.

 

Here’s the Story with Nal’ibali

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In South Africa, children are not reading well. The results of the 2016 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) assessment placed South Africa last out of 50 participating countries. The study also revealed that 78% of Grade 4 children in South Africa cannot read for meaning in any language.

 

There is a severe lack of reading material in South African schools and homes. Fifty-eight percent of households have no leisure books, and only 7% of homes have more than ten books.[1] Just 17% of schools have a stocked library,[2] and many contain unsuitable books, are locked most of the time, or do not allow children to take books home. Books in African languages are particularly scarce: while South Africa has eleven official languages, 41% of children’s books published between 2000 and 2015 were in English, 24% were in Afrikaans, and only 35% were in the other nine African languages combined.[3]

 

Reading culture is also limited. Only 35% of adults who live with children read aloud to them.[4] Few children have the opportunity to choose what they want to read or take books home from a school or library. This ring-fences reading as a technical decoding task – not an exciting, joyful and personally relevant activity.

 

Aims of Nal’ibali

Nal’ibali (isiXhosa for “here’s the story”) is South Africa’s reading-for-enjoyment campaign. It makes use of reading and storytelling in home languages as well as English to support children’s literacy learning and school success. It is one of the biggest literacy-based nongovernmental organisations in South Africa. It was initiated in 2012 by the DG Murray Trust and the Project for the Study of Alternative Education in South Africa (PRAESA).

 

Nal’ibali is built on the simple logic that a well-established culture of reading can be a real game-changer for education in South Africa. Literacy skills are a strong predictor of future academic success in all subjects – and children who regularly read and hear engaging stories, in languages they understand, are well equipped and motivated to learn to read and write. A significant body of research reinforces the link between reading for pleasure and improved outcomes for children.

 

Nal’ibali seeks to create and nurture the conditions throughout society that support children’s development as readers. These are:

  • KNOWLEDGE AND AWARENESS: Adults and children understand and value reading for enjoyment, and know how to nurture it.
  • OPPORTUNITIES TO READ: Frequent opportunities to read, write and hear stories exist in a variety of accessible spaces.
  • READING ROLE MODELS: Adults share books and stories with children, and encourage others to do the same.
  • ACCESS TO READING MATERIAL: Adults and children have access to a wide variety of relevant engaging reading material, in all South African languages.


Nal’ibali was established by PRAESA and the DG Murray Trust in 2011 and launched to the public in 2012. It emerged out of two decades of research on multilingual education conducted by PRAESA under Dr Neville Alexander and Dr Carole Bloch, their successful development of a model for community-based reading clubs, and the experience of the loveLife behavioural change campaign, which sought to reduce the incidence of HIV among young people.

Nal’ibali quickly achieved notable scale and momentum. PRAESA, which implemented the campaign from its inception to 2015, received the 2015 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award (ALMA) – the most prestigious prize in its field – for its contribution to children’s multilingual literacy development.

In 2016, the Nal’ibali Trust was born and Nal’ibali became an independent entity, with PRAESA continuing as a research and content partner.

Projects and Activities

In its aim to grow a reading culture in South Africa, Nal’ibali recognises the power and potential of communities in literacy development, and the importance of reading and writing in home languages as a basis to improve economic and social equality in a country where indigenous languages have historically been marginalised.

At its core, Nal’ibali works with partners and individuals across the country to set up and run a growing network of more than 4 000 reading clubs for children. Reading clubs are relaxed, informal spaces where children can enjoy books, stories and other literacy-related activities such as songs and games in their home languages as well as English. Nal’ibali trains and equips individuals and organisations to run reading clubs. The sustainability of these clubs is supported through mentoring, resource provision and partnerships.

Nal’ibali also runs digital and mass media campaigns. More than 7.4 million people listened each week to its most recent radio story season on SABC stations, and it recently launched a national billboard campaign.

It also does significant work distributing reading materials. Most notably, it has distributed more than 33.8 million copies of its bilingual newspaper supplement since 2012. Each edition includes three stories (two can be cut and folded to make a book), activity suggestions for teachers and caregivers, motivational messaging and information about reading, news from the Nal’ibali network, and games and activities for children. Stories celebrate traditional storytelling and local authors, and reflect readers’ lived experiences. All content is bilingual (English and another language), and it is currently available in eight of the eleven official languages. Nal’ibali has also distributed nearly half a million books, and its website has 646 stories in all eleven languages.

 

Key partners include:

  • Government: We have a Memorandum of Understanding with the national Department of Basic Education, and work with provincial and district education departments to implement reading clubs across the country. We also work with various municipal entities.
  • Media partners: Key partners include Tiso Blackstar, a media company that prints and distributes Nal’ibali’s bilingual newspaper supplement, and SABC Education, which has aired three seasons of radio stories in all eleven South African languages between 2013 and 2018.
  • Distribution partners: In addition to Tiso Blackstar, the Post Office distributes supplements to reading clubs and the general public. Publications including the Sunday Times Express and Sunday World, the Daily Dispatch and The Herald, carry our content to help us reach a broader audience. In the past, we’ve also worked with Wimpy, Pick n Pay, Boxer, NAPTOSA and Free4All.
  • Non-profit organisations: Nal’ibali works with a national network of partners, who receive training and reading materials from Nal’ibali and run reading clubs in schools, pre-schools, after-care programmes and other youth development initiatives.
  • Research institutes: Nal’ibali is working with NORC at the University of Chicago on a randomised controlled trial of its Story Powered Schools project, and recently worked with JET Education Services on an external evaluation of its bilingual reading materials. Nal’ibali continues to work with PRAESA, its founding partner, on reading-material development, and training curriculum and content.
  • Funders: Funding partners include the DG Murray Trust, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the First Rand Empowerment Foundation (FREF), Volkswagen South Africa (VWSA) and the HCI Foundation.

 

Key Outcomes of Projects and Activities


We track our social outcomes through monitoring, evaluation and research. Key social outcomes achieved (as of mid-November 2018) include:

 

Increased access to, and use of, reading material:

  • Nal’ibali has distributed 8 million bilingual newspaper supplements, 466 253 books, and 1.4 million story collections and magazines since 2012. Also, 646 free stories are available on its website.
  • An external evaluation of the supplement showed that supplements are well used in a variety of ways, enabling the reading behaviours we seek to support. 95% of organisations and 18% of newspaper buyers that receive the supplement use it. Of those who use the supplement, the most common reading behaviours include:
    • reading aloud to children (90% of organisations, 72% of newspaper buyers),
    • adults and children reading together (88% of organisations, 70% of newspaper buyers), and
    • children reading on their own (88% of organisations, 67% of newspaper buyers).
  • Bilingual reading supplements are increasing availability of reading materials in homes: 85% of organisations that receive supplements let children take them home.

 

A network of reading clubs:

  • 4 353 reading clubs reaching 126 829 children are active in all nine South African provinces and 84% of these clubs meet at least once a week. The reading clubs give children regular, enjoyable opportunities to learn.

 

A network of motivated, skilled adults reading aloud to children:

  • 22 060 people have been trained on reading for enjoyment.
  • At least 8 959 people are currently running or volunteering at reading clubs.[5]
  • More than 17 000 people are part of Nal’ibali’s broader network of literacy activists (known as “FUNda Leaders”).

 

Mass media and participation:

  • In 2018, Nal’ibali mobilised South Africans to read aloud to 1 295 449 children on World Read Aloud Day – an 80% increase on 2017.
  • In 2018, 7.4 million people listened to Nal’ibali stories on SABC radio stations each week.
  • Community activations and events have reached more than 200 000 people.

 

To create a culture of reading, it’s crucial to shift mindsets and, consequently, behaviour. Once people have taken ownership of an idea or a concept, once they see it is an integral part of their world view and identity, behaviour begins to change. Nal’ibali strives to acknowledge and promote reading and storytelling as a key part of South African identity.

 

Since launch in 2012, Nal’ibali has solidly entrenched its position as a thought and action leader for children’s literacy development and has spread the power of stories and reading nationwide – one story at a time.

[1] South African Book Development Council (2017). National survey into the reading behaviour of adult South Africans 2016. Retrieved here.

[2] Department of Basic Education (2015). National Education Infrastructure Management System (NEIMS) Standards Report as at 12 May 2015. Retrieved here.

[3] Children’s Book Availability Report, by the South African Publications Network. Cited here.

[4] South African Book Development Council (2017).

[5] Nal’ibali does not have volunteer data for all reading clubs – this number is probably higher.

Careers in the Book Industry – Associate Editor

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The book industry forms an integral part of a country’s education system and is filled with a variety of professionals that play a specific role in the business of books. However, the average person on the street generally knows very little about what it means to be a publisher or an independent bookseller; highly popularized professions like doctor or accountant tend to be more sought after.

 

Careers in the book industry is a brand new feature that will give the professions in the industry a voice. We will showcase the breadth and depth of the available career options through talking to active professionals within the industry.

In this issue we chat to:

Sibongile Machika

Associate Editor – Pan Macmillan

 

 

 

Please share your background and what you currently do in the book industry.

I was born in Mamelodi, Pretoria and was raised by a single dad, my grandmother and Yotv. Between these three I fell in love with stories and storytelling. I studied Publishing at the University of Pretoria and I am currently an Associated Editor.

 

How did you get into the book industry? Was it something you always wanted to be in?

I have always wanted to be a story teller but only fell in love with books in matric. I had a brilliant English teacher Mrs. I. Joubert at Cornerstone College.  She made words matter to me. She built us and cut us down to size with the power of her words; it was her super power. She made Shakespeare’s mythical worlds come alive and completely understood why I was ready to love a vampire when Twilight came out.

 

I wanted to be a publisher because stories changed my family’s lives; from the Soul City pamphlets that taught about HIV/Aids to the 14:00 stories on Ukhozi FM and even Generations. I saw how stories impacted my family then and continue to do so now. I wanted to part of that.

 

I got into the industry through the Media 24 graduate programme. I was one of 2000 people who applied and after a series of interviews I was accepted to be part of the 1 year internship.  I was placed at NB publisher and it allowed me to work with various publishers and imprints.

 

What skills-set does one need to perform your role?

The simple answer is a huge appetite for reading and an open mind. Reading widely and often outside of my comfort zone is also big part of my job.  One also needs to be a critical thinker and have a keen interest for other cultures.

I would also encourage doing things outside of your comfort zone to jolt the imagination and inspire lots of creativity. I would like to be a dragon effect kind of publisher; this means I want those who have never experienced my work, to have some idea of what I do. Just like we have never experienced dragons but we know what they do.

One also needs to be good with people. Our industry relies on relationships with authors, media, customers etc.

 

What are your formal qualifications and how did they prepare you for the work you are currently doing?

I have an undergraduate degree in Publishing and an Honours degree in Journalism.

When I went to university I didn’t know what publishing was.  My undergrad taught me the practicalities of how to produce the finished product; how one brings the dream to life.

My time at journalism school taught me how to listen and what it takes to formulate and write the story. It also taught me how to work under pressure, meet deadlines and build networks.

 

Most professionals say that their fields are constantly evolving and it’s a must to stay abreast of the latest trends, updates and new ways of performing functions etc. Would you say this is true to your role as well?

Yes, but in context. Whether it is new stories told in new ways or technologies there is always something new happening.  So, I think it is worthwhile learning about new systems and technologies that might make our jobs easier.  Knowing doesn’t always mean we can put it to use here in an African context. Sure, we keep our ears on the ground and stay plugged in, but reading widely is still top of my list in terms of progressively performing my job.

 

In terms of evolving, for the first time ever the publishing industry is open to black authors, readers and whatever they choose to image themselves as. That is a scary thought for most people so when I say that the industry is open to it, I mean that the black market is one that can no longer be ignored. It is a profitable, creative market that is telling human stories in ways we haven’t seen before. What does history look like when we write it ourselves? Who become the heroes, the villains when the writers are black? How do we (black people) address difficult issues that are to do with us?  This might be new in SA but there is nothing new under the sun.

 

Many nations found their voice before us, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Botswana and India just to name a few.  How have these nations chosen to recreate themselves, to recreate their history, to retell themselves? There is so much to gain and from them but there is also so much of us to share with them. Yet it seem there is very little effort or interest in figuring out the best way to have this exchange.

 

What are some of the misconceptions that you had about the book industry prior to working in it?

Black people don’t read.

That well-read people are progressive, open minded and creative. It is not true.

The devil wears Prada!

 

What is your advice to young people that are considering a career in the book industry? What education path would you encourage them to follow?

Read, read, read. Don’t come into the industry for the money.

I would encourage one to study a language, ideally a local language or any of the major languages on the continent. Then I would say anything that gives insight into the human condition: Sociology, Philosophy, Literature (lean towards African literature), and consider journalism.

 

What are entry level positions in the book industry?

Internships and book reviews or working in book stores.

 

Are the professionals in the book industry comprised of a certain demographic?

Is there under representation/over representation of certain groups?

Yes the industry is mostly white middle aged women.

There is over representation of white people and over representation of English language practitioners. Both factors have a huge impact on what stories get published and who gets access to them.

 

With regards to the over representation of white people, it comes down to this: we engage that which is familiar to us. So white publishers publish what they know or are comfortable with; they market in ways that make sense to them to reach the target audience they imagine; and, they sell in ways and at avenues they know.  Therefore, if most of the industry is made up of white people at every point of the value chain, well then, we as an industry will continue to publish (mostly) for white people, those who assimilate as such (white) and those who aspire to do so (be ideologically white).

 

Most of the nonwhite practitioners we have can’t write or read African languages on a professional level, never mind being able to keep up with how these languages evolve. So it means most publishing houses don’t publish African languages, which then means we are not catering for the majority or nurturing this market. By African languages I am also referring to languages from other African countries. Of course there are many reasons and excuses for this and that is a story for another day.

 

Such things as I have outlined, create and maintain vicious myths like ‘blacks don’t read’.

 

If you had a magic wand and could make the Book Industry perfect, what would you do?

The book industry doesn’t exist in isolation. Books reflect our time, our world. Thus the changes I would want to make speaks to our world as it relates to readers and those that create the content.

My dreams need more than just a room, they must be the land on which the house is built.  So with this in mind, the change are:

  • Make African languages compulsory from grade R to honours level (after undergrad). Create a market that only  fellow Africans can service well. Most people read in English because that is the language they learned to read first and probably express themselves best in. So what happens when people are as comfortable with their mother tongues?  What that opens us to is the possibilities of transmitting culture more effectively. An opportunity to write about ourselves in ways our souls and ancestors will resonate and to capture (write) what our ancestors might have imagined.
  • Make it compulsory for publishers, book retailers and media houses to fund tertiary education in languages, publishing and other industry related fields directly proportional to their market share. Publishing and languages go hand in hand so approaching them collectively at a tertiary level would greatly assist the industry. Such an obligation could drastically change things and it can be made attractive for the media/publishing houses by offering a tax rebate.
  • All publishing related government and SOEs requirements should be serviced by local publishing houses.
  • Introduce an industry quota for the next 10 years; each imprint at a publishing house must publish 50% non-white authors. Half of which must also be available in an African language.
  • Before publishing a white author, make sure there is no non-white person who is writing on that topic.

 

What 3 books are most representative of who you are?

Can I answer this on my death bed? Or better yet, I will visit you in a dream six months after my death…. I’m still reading and Sula by Toni Morrison is on the list.

Books Extravaganza for Kids!

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The count-down is on to the 2019 South Africa Children’s Book Fair (SACBF) which will be held at the Blue Wing Conference and Events Venue, Ticketpro Dome in Northgate. Running from 30 May – 2 June, the mandate of SACBF is to encourage children to get into the healthy habit of reading thus entrenching a culture at an early age.

 

The goals of the Children’s Book Fair are to create a platform for children’s books writers to get exposure, provide a large scale opportunity for various stakeholders in the children’s books industry to interact and; encourage authors to continue telling stories that are easily readable and in the context of the African child.

 

This year’s event marks the 3rd edition and organisers are expecting growth in the number of feet that visit the fair.

 

“My dream is to see the SACBF as a must-go-to event on every child’s calendar in and around the Johannesburg area. I also believe that the fair should be listed as one of the events to look forward to in support of youth month on the government’s calendar;  we are working towards that possibility” comments Vuyo Biyana founder and director of the SACBF.

 

 

The first two days of the fair are dedicated to school children with a jam-packed programme filled with exciting activities. The last two days are open to the general public.

Most of the learners are first-time visitors to a book fair and SACBF prides itself in giving learners an immersive experience. Children from all walks life have the opportunity to read books, listen to compelling stories, attend interactive workshops, witness book launches and so much more.

 

Schools are selected in collaboration with the Gauteng Department of Education and just under 400 learners attended last year.

 

The event attracts global publishers, corporates, self-publishers, small and medium exhibitors and young writers to showcase their work in a conducive environment geared towards fun and engagement.

 

 

Entry fee:

 

Tickets: Adults – R50.00; Pensioners – R30.00; Children (ages 13 – 17) – R20.00; Children 12 years and below – free entry.  Ticket can be purchased online at www.webtickets.co.za,

in store at any Pick n Pay  or on the day upon entry.

 

 

For exhibition space please contact Vuyo Biyana on +27 72 785 0512

 

 

 

Rolene Miller’s Womandla!

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International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity.

Locally, Womandla! Women Power! The “Herstory” is a reflective story of one woman’s resolve to contribute to the upliftment of women in dire circumstances.

Rolene Miller is the founder of Mosaic, a South African non-governmental organisation which provides free counselling and courtroom assistance to disadvantaged women who have been victims of gender-based violence. Miller’s book Womandla! Women Power! The “Herstory” of Mosaic was published in 2018 for Mosaic’s twenty-fifth anniversary and chronicles the founder’s life with the organisation from the time of its founding up until today. The formal establishment of Mosaic as an NGO in 1993 coincided with the end of Apartheid in South Africa, a timing Miller felt to be symbolically perfect. However, although Mosaic started off at a time of transformation, in an atmosphere of freedom and hope, getting an NGO up and running in the post-Apartheid climate would prove less straightforward than anticipated. Womandla! is the story of Mosaic’s bumpy ride.

Far from being a dry recounting of names, dates and facts, this book takes the reader on a deeply personal and emotional journey. The author makes the history – or herstory – of Mosaic come alive; to Miller, her time with Mosaic is part of her very being. We get a vivid sense of her motivations for founding the organisation, her strong inner drive to get her idea off the ground, the familial and professional hurdles she faced on the way, and her steep learning curve in the world of community work. A well-to-do white South African woman of the Jewish faith, Miller paints a detailed and insightful picture of the challenges of establishing bonds of trust with disadvantaged communities, of fostering sisterhood across the boundaries of racial classifications during the early years of South African democracy, and of bringing men and women together in discussions about abuse. She also writes openly about her personal relationship with God.

While Womandla! is Miller’s personal story, it is also – and equally importantly – the story of Mosaic’s community workers. These are women who came to Mosaic in search of empowerment for themselves and others; women who sometimes faced opposition from husbands and family members for choosing to work with Mosaic; women who voluntarily jumped straight into the deep end of the pool and, despite their lack of previous experience, learned to expertly navigate a completely new professional environment; women who had the courage and willpower to revisit their own traumatic experiences as part of their training as counsellors. Reading about these women, I find them to be truly inspirational role models.

In Womandla!, Miller shows herself to be an astute observer. Her text has the ethnographic detail of an anthropological monograph and is essentially an auto-ethnography, brimming with thick descriptions and excerpts from Miller’s personal journal through which Mosaic’s volunteers and participants are often referenced in their own words. Womandla! contains revealing behind-the-scenes accounts reminiscent of such ethnographic works as Geertz’s Deep Play: Notes on the Balinese Cockfight and Rabinow’s Reflections on Fieldwork in Morocco. Miller’s journal entries tend to reveal her judgements of specific individuals, which some may find off-putting, but which I choose to read as signs of honesty and transparency. By sharing even her most problematic thoughts and opinions, Miller adds important dimensions to the story and opens herself up for commentary and constructive criticism.

Although Womandla! is not explicitly branded as a scholarly work, it holds significant scholarly value, most obviously because it provides an exhaustive documentation of the herstory of Mosaic. Furthermore, seen in a larger context, the book is essential reading for anyone interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the situation of women in South Africa’s immediate post-Apartheid era. Womandla! provides an interesting take on interracial, intercultural and inter-class dynamics, and to a certain extent even issues of gender and sexuality. Mosaic’s early focus on intersectional identities strikes me as ahead of its time, and as a transgender woman, I am especially impressed by the fact that Miller was emphasizing the difference between sex and gender as early as the mid-1990s.

There is strong symbolism in the name Mosaic, which was chosen to illustrate how “Broken pieces of abused women’s lives will be put together to create a beautiful and whole life for themselves” (p. 9). Although Mosaic has done much good in its 25 years of existence, the fight against gender-based violence and abuse – as Miller rightly points out in the book – is still a work in progress. As broken shards are picked up and mended, new lives continue to be shattered. Reading Miller’s account of a silent demonstration against woman abuse held by Mosaic in 1995 reminded me of the much less silent Total Shutdown protests which took place across South Africa in 2018. This book, then, is not simply a work of historical documentation; it is a testament, indeed a salute, to the ongoing and ever-vibrant women’s rights struggle in which Mosaic and similar organisations continue to play a crucial part. Womandla awethu!

Van Schaik’s Innovative SmartSWOT App

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Businesses in the educational sector operate in an ever-changing, tech savvy, digital centric market.  Leading academic bookseller Van Schaik Bookstore has embraced the challenge with their innovative offering, SmartSWOT a digital learning solution, that links to a mobile app filled with curriculum-based resources, and brings textbook publishers, educators and learners onto one interactive platform.

 

“SmartSWOT is a digital learning ecosystem that goes beyond the e-Textbook experience.

In a nutshell, it is a digital learning solution based in an app, that enables blended learning – classroom teaching supported by digital technology and resources to be used at home,” says Stephan Erasmus, MD of Van Schaik Bookstore.

 

Students install the SmartSWOT Learning App on a device of their choice at home (mobile phone, tablet or computer). The app comes with prepackaged learning resources as per the curriculum, in the form of digital books. The student’s school has the additional option to administer homework, tests and publish further learning resources through the app.

 

“SmartSWOT offers an unparalleled learning experience – it enhances learning with rich resources, fun, creativity and innovation – it’s the future of integrated, interactive learning,” says Erasmus.

 

“This product is an inevitable evolution of our product offering – Van Schaik as a business took a strategic decision to evolve with the times and was the first bookstore to introduce an aggregated e-Textbook platform to South Africa, which has allowed us to gain a deeper understanding into how e-Textbooks are used by and affect students, academics, institutions and publishers. SmartSWOT evolved out of these insights.”

 

Erasmus says that SmartSWOT is largely based on the e-textbook concept, but takes it much further: “The SmartSWOT app hosts content from top publishers, and in an e-textbook format offers learners an interactive learning experience that can be customized according to specific courses and institutions’ needs, and can be bundled with other institutional content.”

 

Project leader Melvin Kaabwe says that institutions have embraced SmartSWOT, because it supports student learning in such an accessible way:

“Students can easily buy their prescribed e-textbooks and recommended e-books on vanschaik.com or their nearest physical Van Schaik Bookstore on campus. Once they have downloaded the SmartSWOT app, they have access to their e-textbooks and more e-learning material upon login. After the initial login, all the contents are available for offline use.”

 

 “Teachers and lecturers can use the app to monitor student progress as the app has the ability to track students through self-marking quizzes and assessments, as well as analytics on student progress.

 

“Facilitators can upload notes, examples and assessments.  They can also enrich the content via media tools, including embedded videos, audio, animations and 3D graphs. It allows for one-to-one teaching, digital assessments, as well as the ability to track students’ progress. SmartSWOT will also allow students to contact facilitators and to hold group discussions with their peers.”

 

Kaabwe says that the app is designed to be user-friendly and encourages interaction: “Students will be able to access their textbooks on and offline, as they only need to connect to Wi-Fi to download new content. The new platform allows students to make hand-written notes, while also allowing them to highlight and save certain sections. Textbooks will come alive with animations, widgets and exercises allowing students to do virtual experiments and practical assignments or partake in workshops.”

 

Bianca Le Cornu, Programme Manager and Creative Arts Lecturer at the Pearson Institute of Higher Education says the app is a natural progression in a technology-based learning environment: “The app is a great alternative (or addition) to existing LMS systems; allowing learners to engage in blended learning activities is one space, in close proximity to their learning materials. Furthermore, the after-sales service is top notch.”

 

Van Schaik offers additional support through their call center at sharecall 08600STUDY or internationally +27123665400, and offers on-site support including DTP services, content origination and customer services.

 

The app is available for download on: https://www.vanschaik.com/smartswot/

The Underground Booksellers Tour

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Bridge Books offers a unique experience that takes book lovers on guided walks through the inner-city’s literary history, tracing Joburg’s informal book trade.

 

Hosted by Griffin Shea, founder and owner of Bridge Books, an independent bookstore in Joburg CBD with a focus on African writers, the tour starts with a coffee at Bridge Books, based in one of the inner-city’s finest heritage buildings, before meandering through Joburg’s historic financial district.

 

The most recent tour included stops at Meischke’s Building, which housed Joburg’s first bookshop Thorolds and is now home to De Strong Tower, a supplier of Nigerian chapbooks (often described as the Nollywood of publishing), the Johannesburg City Library, Urban Ocean’s Pop-Up Arcade, a bookstore dedicated to Africa’s political memoirs and a market offering Southern African literature. The walk also made a stop at Ernest Oppenheimer Park where storyteller and author Baeletsi Tsatsi of Naane le Moya treated walkers to an African mythology storytelling session.

 

The Underground Booksellers of Joburg Tour dispels the myth that Joburg lacks a culture of reading by introducing walkers to the inner-city’s many independent bookstores and smaller second-hand bookdealers. A treat for bookworms!

 

Also operating out of Bridge Books is a wholesale book programme that supplies new books to the more than 70 small sellers in downtown Johannesburg.

The African Book Trust is Bridge Books’ social initiative that gets books into communities through libraries – neighbourhood libraries, school libraries and basically any libraries where books can be shared freely. Interested libraries need to email griffin@booktrust.co.za to register as beneficiaries.

 

To get details of the next tour, contact Bridge Books on 079 708 4461 info@bridgebooks.co.za.

 

 

A Tale of Friendship and Beautiful Hair

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Afro hair is steadily gaining momentum as more and more women of colour across the world opt to wear their hair naturally, a transition that has as much psychological value as commercial value with mega chain stores and manufacturers rushing to expand their African hair products offering .

Here in South Africa, the consciousness of natural African hair is growing and one of the voices leading in the affirmation of African hair is Lebohang Masango a Master’s candidate in Social Anthropology at the University of Witwatersrand. She is also a children’s book author, feminist, poet, freelance writer and social commentator.

Lebohang authored children’s book, Mpumi’s Magic Beads (self-published under Thank You Books) a delightful book about friendship, self-esteem, discovery and beautiful hair in Joburg city. It follows the sudden adventures of Mpumi, Asante and Tshiamo as they see the world around them from new heights and realise all of the fun waiting to be discovered outside of their classroom. This story is a great read for the whole family, especially children aged between 5 – 10 years old

The book has been translated into all of South Africa’s official languages. She regularly hosts storytelling sessions for children in schools and community libraries.

Her research interests include gender, popular culture, representations and new digital media. Her Honours’ ethnography, aptly called Of Hair and Brown Girls: Beauty and Femininity in Pretoria, explores race and femininity through hairstyling practices, self-imaging, whiteness and regulations for African girls in a Tshwane primary school.

Among Lebohang’s achievements and accolades, she was a member of the Feminist Stokvel, a group of women who hosted public conversations regarding natural hair.

She recently participated in the South African Book Fair 2018  in the Keorapetse Kgositsile Poetry Café, #OURSTORIES on the page, mic and stage, where audiences were treated to a feast of intergenerational voices in indigenous languages.

 

The Chalk Giraffe

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Imagnary House launched a delightful new title where illustrator Megan Lötter joins forces with Kirsty Paxton in a cheeky and fun African children’s story, which is their first children’s book together.
What sort of landscape would you like to live in? Imagine if you had the chance to tell the artist how you wanted to look? Well, the animals of Africa – starting with the giraffe – have a say in creating their own personal landscape when our artistic child draws a giraffe in chalk. When the drawings magically come to life, the characters become rather demanding art critics, and some things have to change!

 

We all know how fabulous it is to draw with chalk and create characters that we love and then rub them clean when we want to change them, only to recreate the original picture. In The Chalk Giraffe, author Kirsty Paxton gives us all these elements along with rhyming text and a creative child with wildly messy hair and a vivid imagination.  When her creation comes alive and asks for more colourful surroundings, she happily draws that for him.

 

“‘I’m alone’ he cried out, ‘there’s just grey all around’. So I drew him a tree growing up from the ground.”

 

But as he asks for more and more, our little artist gets frustrated and things start to unravel! What follows is a quirky and humorous tale of creativity and perspective, with the beautiful African landscape as a backdrop to this unlikely friendship.

 

The collaboration between Kirsty Paxton and Megan Lötter has resulted in a beautifully balanced book, where illustration and text allow children to pursue their own creativity.
Kirsty Paxton is a play education specialist from Cape Town, South Africa, and now living in Canada. She has previously written and published Why is there a Hole in the Wall? through Book Dash, and throughout her life has worked in jobs that encourage learning for children through play and imagination, including time in her own business Artee Parteez and working with Axium Education. Her latest kids’ book, The Chalk Giraffe is a dive into creativity and curiousity for children, exploring what art means and what role we partake in it. It is an exciting and brilliant understanding of imagination for children, and is sure to lead to many more publications in this vein.

 

Megan Lötter is a freelance illustrator living in Cape Town, South Africa, having studied graphic design at CPUT. She is in love with creating characters and animals for children’s books, nostalgic of her own childhood. Having been surrounded by paint and an endless supply of pencils and crayons, her love for drawing started at a very young age and highly influenced her love for colour. Her new illustrated book, The Chalk Giraffe, captures this pursuit of colour, perspective, and out-of-the-box art for children.