It’s time to buy a book this week
JOHANNESBURG – Youngsters encouraged to read and buy books more at seventh annual National Book Week.
The theme of buying and reading more books was a prevalent one at the recent launch of the National Book Week Literacy Campaign this past week.
The national campaign, now in its seventh year, was launched on 1 September and comes hot on the heels of recent efforts by the Orange Grove Primary School library to encourage young South Africans to read books more.
Speaking at the launch was Elitha van der Sandt, chief executive officer of the South African Book Development Council, who spoke of the benefits of getting more young people to read. “By encouraging people to buy books and, more importantly, to read local books, particularly among our youth, we believe a significant impact can be made in terms of upskilling our youth and empowering them to achieve higher levels of education.
“Increasing the number of book buyers and readers also leads to significant increases in economic contribution, and increased demand can have a very positive impact on the cost of a book.”
Van der Sandt also spoke of the statistics, highlighting a recent Ministerial Task Team Report by the Department of Arts and Culture which estimated that only 1per cent of the South African population buys books. Furthermore, it was revealed that more than half of South African homes do not have a single leisure book to read, which Van der Sandt indicated was a key motivator for the #Buy_a_Book and #Read_a_Book strategies.
“The more pages we turn, the more valuable knowledge and insight we gain – insight that we can share with those around us, and insight that can empower us significantly,” she said.
Adding to this was Gauteng MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, Faith Mazibuko, who gave a keynote address at the launch and also spoke of the importance of reading to build the future leaders of the country.
National Book Week runs until 11 September and will see various celebrity ambassadors including Refiloe Mpakanyane, Stoan Seate and Azania Mosaka along with book week mascot, Funda Bala join in the line-up of activities across Johannesburg and share in the joy of reading.
Additionally, National Book Week is running the #Buy_a_Book campaign until 18 September, which encourages residents to buy a book for only R20 at either Bargain Books or Exclusive Books, located in Hyde Park, Sandton City, Rosebank Mall and Greenstone Shopping Centre, among others, and drop it in any one of the campaign donation bins.
Also read: The 8th of September is International Literacy Day
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Details: www.sabookcouncil.co.za
