Nal’ibali and partners gather to celebrate literacy change
Celebrating a year of driving literacy change in their community, partners in the national network of Nal’ibali reading clubs gathered in six provinces this December to recognise a year of reading and sharing stories with children.
“When children read for enjoyment, not only is their emotional wellbeing enhanced, but their chances of success at school are greatly improved, irrespective of their social or economic backgrounds,” explained…
The evolution of stories in the digital world
Zimkhitha Mlanzeli is an author and editor at the FunDza Literacy Trust. She mentors young aspirant writers in a bid to give back to the reading community that made her:
“I’m Remo Modise, I saw a piece I wrote, LIFE AFTER MATRIC, published on Mxit. I wanted to say thank you for the support and also for believing in me.” – Remo Modise
This is what I…
South African Airways and Nal’ibali take youngsters on a reading adventure
South African Airways again has special plans in store for young people travelling over the festive time, which will keep them entertained and inspire them to read.
The airline announced today that it has again partnered with the Nal’ibali reading-for-enjoyment campaign to produce a second edition of their Story Power magazine. To celebrate the new edition, children from the Soweto-based Nal’ibali reading club, Mighty Stars, were…
Beat the holiday slump with Nal’ibali’s summer reading challenge
Designed to keep reading and stories alive for children over the long summer holidays, Nal’ibali, the national reading-for-enjoyment campaign, has launched its 2015 Summer Reading Challenge. Set up as a story search on a special activity sheet, the challenge encourages parents and children to explore Nal’ibali’s range of online stories and keep up a reading routine whether at home, on the road or away.
“The holiday period…
Astrid Lindgren and the legacy of reading
The birthday of the great Swedish children’s writer, Astrid Lindgren, is being celebrated this month. As we continue to seek ways to motivate and deepen reading habits among children and adults in South Africa, this offers us a moment to consider what we might learn from a life dedicated to advocating for human rights and writing for children.
Lindgren was extraordinarily prolific and is known…
Seven-year-old crowned SA’s first Story Bosso
Seven-year-old Athandiwe Sikade of Khayelitsha in Cape Town has been announced the winner of Nal’ibali’s storytelling competition, Story Bosso.
The competition, designed as a nationwide talent search to get people of all ages excited about reading and telling stories, invited members of the public to send in audio or video clips of themselves reading or telling their favourite stories.
“We collected more than 2 000 submissions from…
Creating collective change through stories
Currently the Marketing Manager for the Africa region for Cambridge University Press, Wonder Chabalala has worked with and been inspired by books all his life. He developed a passion for the industry after becoming a part-time bookseller for a large retail company while studying, and since then has been in the book industry for 22 years in both retail and publishing. Wonder shares powerful ideas of…
The healing power of stories
Children’s Grief Awareness Day is a reminder that children feel and experience grief and pain as acutely as adults. They may experience a wide range of emotions – anger, depression, confusion, frustration, anxiety – but they may not yet have the words to identify and express these emotions. And because they have not yet learned to verbalise emotions in the way adults do, children are…
World Kindness Day: Nal’ibali turns traffic jams into story slams
On Friday, 13 November, the Nal’ibali reading-for-enjoyment campaign will transform traffic light intersections into book and story giveaway spaces. As part of International Kindness Day, the Nal’ibali Traffic Book Jam will focus on parents, caregivers and other commuters, to inspire them to bring home the power of stories to children. The Nal’ibali team will hand out free books and story cards in a range of…
Stories: The emotional fabric of society
Dr Garth Japhet is the founder and chief executive of Heartlines, a value-based media campaign and printed resource organisation. Heartlines has developed a series of books titled ‘Stories That Talk’, which assist educators and caregivers in encouraging early literacy skills and learning around values. Sally Mills (Nal’ibali networks and communications coordinator) and Japhet explore the role of stories in helping children cope, and understand difficulties and…
