In the spirit of Youth Month, the Nal’ibali national reading-for-enjoyment campaign hosted a Youth Day discussion at Centre for the Book in the city centre recently.
The panel included activists who are passionate about youth, language and advocacy work.
The story of June 16 1976 encompasses two of Nal’ibali’s values – activism and the belief that every child has the right to be educated in a language they understand.
Liziwe Ndalana, a literacy activist and one of the panellists, said a love of storytelling and sharing stories was inherited by us as South Africans.
“To cultivate a culture of reading in South Africa, we need more young people to become reading role models,” she said.
“I’m extremely passionate about literacy and would like to activate a love for books in children, especially children from townships.”
The improvement of literacy rates as universal concern was also discussed.
Nal’ibali runs a FUNda Leader network, where everyday people help children in their community to become more literate by reading to them and teaching them to read in the languages they understand best.
Thembakuye Madlala, Nal’i-bali’s digital strategist, said FUNda Leaders are generally passionate adults who care about and respect children and want to help them learn and become literate through fun and relaxed interaction with stories.
By the end of 2017, there were 5 752 registered FUNda Leaders across the country.
For more information about the Nal’ibali campaign or how to become a FUNda Leader, visit www.nalibali.org and www.nalibali.mobi or find them on Facebook and Twitter: nalibaliSA