The written word is going through a tough time in Africa these days. Besides the daunting levels of illiteracy in the continent, many of the millions who know how to read simply don’t bother.
But there is a rich history of literature in the continent that’s worth remembering. The Malian city of Timbuktu is one legendary example of an African centre renowned for producing reams of literature on everything from religion to medicine. The surviving archives contain manuscripts dating back to the 1300s, many written in a calligraphy unique to that part of Africa and called Hatt Maghribi. While Arabic is the dominant language – having a similar status to Latin in the Europe of old – local languages like Songay, Hausa and Tamsheq are also represented.
But while the past contains a wealth of both African writers and readers, ‘we now have a continent that is becoming ignorant,” says Mandla Maseko, project manager of Masifunde Sonke. ‘People need to be reawakened to the value of reading.”
Now in its second year, Masi- funde Sonke – a Zulu expression that translates as ‘Let us all read” – is a national Department of Education initiative intended to remind old and young alike of the importance of reading. Estimations of the number of South Africans – both illiterate and literate – who can’t, or don’t, read range from six to eight million.
Pivotal to the project, says Maseko, is ‘making people conscious of the benefits of reading”. Besides the functional benefits (like knowing to pay attention to the infamous small-print when signing contracts), there is the all-important aspect of nurturing a nation of critical thinkers. Encouraging people to explore different written interpretations on issues is, believes Maseko, one way of achieving this.
But the challenges to getting people reading are many, and it’s not just the competition from media like the TV that makes it a difficult aim. The shortage of reading materials in many indigenous languages is one glaring obstacle. Masifunde Sonke and the Pan South African Language Board, which is tasked with promoting all 11 official languages, are due to explore ways of overcoming this lack in the near future.
Meantime, Maseko is driving Masifunde Sonke forward from its initial role of creating awareness about its aim to get people reading, to developing projects that will realise this. Key focuses over the next three years include:
– research into reading activities already under way in the country, and creating a comprehensive database on this. This and other reading-related information will be available on the recently developed website, www.masifundesonke.org.za
– developing a books policy, intended to examine and regulate the flow of books in South Africa. The document would also look at legal aspects such as copyright, as well as evaluate the quality of materials.
– promote the formation of book clubs in communities. Maseko believes such clubs ‘can play a vital role in many ways. And the books don’t have to be novels or history books. They can cover common interests like lifestyle, professions, recipes – whatever gets people reading,” says Maseko.
But while the ideas are there, the financial backing is not – leading, inevitably, to questions about how serious the government really is about making the project work. Maseko agrees that more resources need to be committed to Masifunde Sonke: ‘Let’s go beyond saying, ‘It’s a nice project to have’, to looking at ways and means of delivering,” he says.
A spin-off from nurturing a nation of readers, hopes Maseko, is that ‘we can unlock the minds of up-and-coming writers, especially those who can add to our indigenous reading materials”. And with events drawing international interest, like a South African BookFest that is planned for 2004 by the Publishers’ Association of South Africa, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to boast that we are a well-informed nation of readers?