Nal’ibali aims to position itself as a recognised and loved household name across South Africa. The role of media partnerships and ambassadors is crucial in spreading knowledge and awareness on the importance of stories, and how to access them. It is also key to ensuring that more people know about the positive effect of reading and storytelling on children’s educational success.
Flagship events
World Read Aloud Day is a huge, annual milestone event for Nal’ibali. During WRAD, which is held on the first Wednesday of February, the Nal'ibali team creates a story that is read in 12 languages across South Africa. Over the years we've been supported by authors like Buhle Ngaba, Gcina Mhlophe, Tumisang Shandu, Sihle Nontshokweni, and Stacey Fru. Through World Read Aloud Day, we connect with people online and on the ground with this global push for read-aloud awareness. In 2024, 2.8 million children were read to!
Mandela Month presents an opportunity for Nal'ibali to continue Nelson Mandela's legacy of promoting reading and education. Nal'ibali teams throughout South Africa dedicate 67 minutes to support various causes involved in literacy throughout the month of July.
Literacy Month is celebrated every year in September. Nal'ibali celebrates Literacy Month through themes that are tied to the overall Nal'ibali strategy.
Mass media
TV. In 2021 we partnered with SABC 1’s Kids News television programme, creating fun 5-minute video segments of children telling stories in various SA languages. Each segment broadcast reaches 3 million viewers, bringing the love of stories into homes around the country.
Radio. 2024 saw our ninth partnership with SABC radio, broadcasting original children’s stories to 8 million listeners weekly. We reach a further 1.5 million listeners via 46 community radio stations.
Corporate partners
We’ve partnered with various corporate organisations that share our passion, like Boxer, Cadbury’s, Duolingo, Jet, Pick n Pay, SABC, SA Post Office, Standard Bank and Volkswagen.
Conferences
Sharing knowledge and learning from other organisations is crucial to development and learning.Over the years, we have attended, supported and contributed to conferences like the World Literacy Summit, AU Innovation in Education Expo, the African Storybook Project Symposium, LITASA Conference, Universities South Africa, Puku Wordfest Talk, Independent Publishers Alliance Conference, Eastern Cape Literary Festival, Goethe-Institut- MobileLiteracy Workshop, UNICEF ECD Knowledge Building Seminar, and Iziko Museum Mother Day Talk.
Over the years, we’ve seen how powerful awareness-raising can be when organisations and individuals with the same mission join forces and make change happen. If you have a partnership or sponsorship request for us, please contact us here.