It has
been celebration all the way as The Port Harcourt World Book Capital project
marked its mid term in October as Port Harcourt became World Book Capital in
April.
The
coordinators said, “The programmes were designed to enlist participation of
stakeholders in the book industry and a wide age range. Significant amongst the
programmes carried out so far are: 150 weekly Reading Tree-Book Clubs taking
place in 50 primary schools in Port Harcourt, 50 monthly Book Clubs holding in
50 Secondary Schools in Port Harcourt, The Walking Book Programme for students
in the 23 Local Government Areas in Rivers State and a national version for
students in the 36 states as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja which
led to the publishing of 2 books - 100 Years Around Port Harcourt and 100 Years
Around Nigeria.
“A National
Essay Competition opened to students of tertiary institutions around Nigeria
whose three winners were sponsored to attend the Port Harcourt Book Festival
where they received their awards.
“Three Book
Donation drives (Christmas 2013, Children's Day 2014 and Independence Day
2014): The books donated by the public where collated and distributed as 'seed'
libraries to nine indigent communities in the city such as orphanages, a home
for street children and prisons.
“We also had
a book in focus every month supported by a monthly reading of that book and a
monthly drama performance (on the same book where possible). The book of the
month was the subject of discussion on various platforms.
“Other
programmes were a residence for a dozen aspiring writers from around Nigeria at
the Songhai Farm on the outskirts of Port Harcourt. The result is an anthology
titled 'Songhai 12'.
“The PHWBC
also represented Nigeria in International Book Fairs in Lagos, London, Cape Town
and Frankfurt.
“To round
off the first half of the World Book Capital programme was the annual Port
Harcourt Book Festival with the theme 'Possibilities for Nigeria at 100'. This
year we were joined by international partners - UNESCO, PEN, HAY Festival and
the CAINE Prize For African Writing.”
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