Previous| Next | Content| Main |Home
OSSREA Participates in the 2003 Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF)
OSSREA has
participated in the 2003 Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF). The ZIBF is
now acknowledged as the premier literary and book trade event in sub-Saharan
Africa and enjoys the full support of the publishing and book industries
throughout Africa. The 2003 ZIBF was held in the Harare Gardens from 29th July
to 2nd August 2003. In all, more than 134 exhibitors from all over the world
participated in the event. More than 19 countries were represented at this year’s
event in addition to Zimbabwean and international organisations, surpassing that
of last year which recorded only 70 exhibitors. The participant countries
included: Botswana, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, India, Iran, Kenya,
Lesotho, Malawi, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sweden, the UK, Zambia
and Zimbabwe. The international organisations included: the European Union,
UNIFEM, FAO, UNDP and UNESCO.
The events calendar this year took a more cultural bias than ever before because
of the theme for this year which was: Imagination: Literature, Art and Culture.
A revived participation by the women’s organisations was of particular
importance as the Zimbabwe Women’s Resource Centre Network was highly visible
at the ZIBF 2003 with its own programme designed to put issues that affect women
under the spotlight at the Fair. Their programme ranged from workshops on
enhancing women’s IT capacity and enhancing women’s photographic capacity to
talks on various issues including gender and HIV/AIDS.
A Buyers and Sellers Meeting, an event which has become a tradition at the Zimbabwe International Book Fair in recent years, took place on 28th July. This meeting seeks to match-make business partners such as publishers and booksellers prior to their arrival in Harare and business deals are finalised at this meeting. The Buyers and Sellers Meetings were once again facilitated by one of the ZIBF’s key partners, the African Publishers Network (APNET).
The Book Fair’s main curtain raiser, the Indaba was once again held on 27th and 28th July under the theme of: History and Cultures in Africa: The Movement of Ideas, People and Books. The Indaba attracts a number of delegates including writers, publishers, policy-makers, donors, librarians, academics and book professionals. A wide range of speakers included people such as: Adutey Bing and Nana Wilson-Tagoe both of Ghana, Monique Ilboudo of Burkina Faso, Tshikuku Kabeya from the DRC, Ayo Ojeniyi, Oyunba Lawal-Solarin, Akachi Adimora-Ezeigbo and Okufemi Obafemi, all of Nigeria. Other notable names included: Taban lo-Liyong who is based in South Africa, Khary Fall Cissy of Senegal, Rebecca Ribeiro-Ayeh Clarke of Ghana, Sr A. Botelho of Angola and others from Morocco, Lesotho Germany, the Gambia and Zimbabwe.
The Writer’s Workshop addressed topics such as: The Development, Enunciation and Promotion of African Literature: Historical and Cultural Perspectives, the Interface between Knowledge and Power: Women Publishing in Africa and Effective Marketing of Published African Works. The workshop ran over three days only with speakers drawn from among local writers and visiting authors from Nigeria, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana, South Africa, Germany, Zambia, the US and the UK.
The Live Literature Centre was even more vibrant than ever before with a cultural programme bringing together performers and authors, and was coordinated by local poet and performer, Chirikure. Other events included the ever so popular Zimbabwe Book Development Council’s Children’s Reading Tent, the Zimbabwe Book Publishers Association’s Annual Literary Awards and a launch of new products by the Zimbabwe International Book Fair.
OSSREA has been participating in the ZIBF for many years now. OSSREA uses the event as a venue to publicize its mission and objectives, to sell its publications and to create new contacts in the publishing industry.