Celebration of the 2020 International Literacy Day through the launch of a Covid-19 Children’s Story Book
The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC) will on Tuesday, 08 September celebrate the International Literacy Day (ILD) in collaboration with the National Library of South Africa(NLSA) and the Pan South African Language Board(PanSALB).
The 2020 International Literacy Day celebration focuses on, “Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond”, especially on the role of educators and changing pedagogies. This year’s theme highlights literacy learning from a lifelong learning perspective.
As part of the celebrations, the DSAC together with NLSA and PanSALB will also launch a Children’s Book on the COVID-19 pandemic on the 8th of September 2020 at the National Library of South Africa in Pretoria.
The authors of the Covid-19 Children’s Story Book are two young women, Ntandoyenkosi Kunene (Miss South Africa 2016) and Thokozane Dyosini (PhD candidate at WITS), who are teachers by qualification and passionate about education. Their concerns about how children in South Africa are experiencing the effects of COVID-19 inspired them to write this story book which was also translated into all South Africa’s official languages.
This book will give South African children an opportunity to explore questions on the pandemic and demonstrate how innovative and effective teaching strategies can be used in youth and adult literacy programmes to face the pandemic and beyond.
The United Nations, Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) celebrated the first International Literacy Day on 8 September 1967. The celebrations are done annually around the world for the past 52 years to remind the public about the relevance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights, and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.
This year’s International Literacy Day celebration also takes place during Heritage Month, and at the start of National Book Week, which is in its tenth year of instilling a culture of reading and promoting the telling of South African stories.
The event takes place as follows:
Date: Tuesday, 08 September 2020
Time: 09h00 am
Venue: National Library of South Africa, Pretoria, Cnr. Johannes Ramokase and Thabo Sehume Street.
RSVPs: Please contact Mthuthuzeli Nqumba
Cell: 066 302 5397
E-mail: mthuthuzelin@dsac.gov.za
Madimetja Moleba
Cell: 066 301 4675
E-mail: madimetjam@dsac.gov.za
Enquiries:
Zimasa Velaphi,
Cell: 072 172 8925
E-mail: ZimasaV@dsac.gov.za
