City celebrating Africa Day through books

22 May 2017

 

The City of Johannesburg’s Library and Information Services’ three-week long programme to celebrate Africa Month is in full swing, with activities lined up until the last day of May.

 

The programme, which includes the celebration of Africa Day on May 25, will see the City’s libraries across all the seven regions hosting several activities aimed at educating Johannesburg residents about Africa Day.

Africa Day marks the establishment on 25 May 1963 of the Organisation of the African (OAU), which has since been renamed African Union (AU). This year is the 54th anniversary of the organisation’s formation.

Storytelling, cultural performances, African games and information sessions about food and dance and vital information about most of the countries on the continent form part of the programme.

Children and the youth will also get the opportunity to discuss critical issues such as xenophobia, indigenous languages and African medicine.

According to the Library and Information Services (LIS), which is part of the City’s Department of Community Development, emphasis will be on the host of books available in the City’s libraries focusing on the continent, its heritage and uniqueness, as well as the strong ties that exist between and among countries.

“The target audience will be all age groups. The reading programme will be from many of the books about Africa written by African authors as well as those written in indigenous languages. The secondary focus will be to highlight the importance of reading,” says the LIS.

On Thursday May 18, the Mofolo Library in Soweto, Region D, hosted a series of plays telling African stories. The Pimville Library, also in Region D, held a dialogue on African flags. At Vlakfontein Library in Region G learners who frequent the library built African huts using cardboard. The programme runs until Wednesday May 31.