Minister of Basic Education, Hon. Angie Motshekga launches a virtual book club
In his state of the nation address in June 2019, President Cyril Ramaphosa emphasised the importance of cultivating a reading nation to unlock opportunities that flow from a broadened understanding of the country and the world.
Since launching in 2019, the National Reading Coalition has supported the Read to Lead Campaign and President Cyril Ramaphosa’ s call to improve reading nationally – from the classroom to the living room. In the endeavour to build a community around reading, the NRC is networking reading clubs nationally to extend the permeation of the reading culture across the country.
Individuals and reading club members will be invited to join a reading network that will take up the President’s challenge of reading at least one book per month.
In partnership with the Department of Basic Education, the National Library of South Africa and Nal’ibali, the National Reading Coalition is coordinating twelve annual virtual reading sessions networking readers and their clubs nationally. In this way, we envisage to reinforce the reading improvement efforts being made in and around schools and communities.
We invite the public to lead the first reading session which will be hosted by the NRC on the 14 December 2020, South Africans will discuss the book Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
The objectives of this reading session are to:
- Inculcate the culture of reading in South Africans across all ages.
- Maximise reading networks across the country
The first 50 participants to the virtual book launch will get a voucher from Exclusive books to the value of R300.
Registration link: https://nrc.org.za/
About the National Reading Coalition
The National Reading Coalition (NRC) is a coordinating structure where all reading initiatives and interested stakeholders can come together to share knowledge and successful learning experiences. The NRC was established by the National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT) and the Department of Basic Education (DBE) as a comprehensive national response to the reading challenges facing South Africa. The NRC is coordinating the development and implementation of a comprehensive national reading improvement strategy. The NRC functions as an agile, self-sustaining network of reading initiatives.
About the president’s reading circle
In the spirit of Thuma Mina, the President’s Reading Circle answers the call by a champion reader, published author and President of the Republic, Cyril Ramaphosa, for South Africans to experience and live the joy of reading.
President Ramaphosa has consistently urged the nation to cultivate a love of books and reading that will open our minds and hearts to new ideas and unlock opportunities that flow from a broadened understanding of the country and the world around us.
The President’s Reading Circle brings together National Education Collaboration Trust (NECT), National Reading Coalition (NRC), Department of Basic Education (DBE), Read to Lead, National Library of South African (NLSA), Department of Arts and Culture (DAC), Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), National Development Plan (NDP) in a social initiative intended to change lives and transform our society.
Enquiries:
Palesa Khambi
Head: Marketing & Communications
National Education Collaboration Trust
Cell: 083 641 4120
Email: palesak@nect.org.za
