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…
Reading for lions: Stories and animal conservation
Well known for his work on the African lion, Gareth Patterson is an environmentalist, independent wildlife researcher, public speaker and author who has worked for more than 25 years for greater protection of African wildlife. Read Garth’s piece on the symbolic and literal importance of lions:
The lion is the animal symbol of the African continent. Symbolising wisdom, protection, courage and royalty, humankind has drawn…
Nal’ibali announces Story Bosso finalists
Nal’ibali, the national reading-for-enjoyment campaign, has announced the shortlist of nominees for its ‘Story Bosso’ storytelling competition. Running throughout Literacy and Heritage Month in September year, and in conjunction with media partner Times Media, the competition has been designed as a nationwide talent search to excite people about reading and telling stories; identify undiscovered storytellers across the country and connect members of the public with a range…
Six book-donation organisations: How to apply
Nal’ibali aims to get multilingual stories to families and caregivers across the country through our digital platforms, and fortnightly newspaper supplements. These resources can be accessed from our website and mobisite. While our focus is not book donation, we do work with and recommend partner organisations and NGOs that provide book donation resources for those looking for some hardcover reading fun. So, if you’re looking…
Translation to turbo-charge stories
Many years ago, the influential children’s literacy scholar Margaret Spencer Meek remarked, “Every child needs three books at the same time ‒ one that they can read whatever happens, one they are reading at the moment, and one they’re just about able to read. The first the child reads, the second you help them to read and the third, you read to him or…
Sharing stories with children: Literacy and social justice
Barbara Comber is a Research Professor in the Faculty of Education at Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane, Australia. She is particularly interested in literacy education and social justice and recently visited South Africa, further sharing her work on the topic:
Sharing stories of one kind or another with the next generation is something intrinsic to everyday life in most communities. Listening to parents and…
