(Official newsletter of the Harare City Library)
INTRODUCTION
We welcome you all to our
October newsletter, hoping that you enjoyed the previous newsletter. In this
latest issue, we celebrate literacy which undoubtedly is the backbone of
enlightenment. The celebration of
International Literacy Day we had last month at the library was a memorable
event that showcased young talent and also certain ideas relevant to the
library were shared. We invite you to come and make use of the library as a
venue for your events. Enjoy!
HCL
DETERMINED TO PROMOTE LITERACY
The Minister of Primary and Secondary
Education Prof P Mavhima, speaking at the celebration of literacy held at the
Harare City Library last month
The Harare City Library last
month celebrated International Literacy Day which also presented an opportunity
to reflect on the history of the library, its place in the global village and
the future.
Running
under the theme Literacy and Multilingualism in the Era of Inclusivity, the
event was honored with the presence of the Minister of Primary and Secondary
Education Prof P Mavhima who said the theme was relevant because Zimbabwe is
part of the global village. Also present was Mr. Farai Mpfunya, the Executive
Director of Culture Fund Zimbabwe Trust, who tackled the topic ‘Libraries as
Cultural Institutions’.
Five
schools from Harare attended the celebration, provided musical entertainment
and engaged in reading activities with senior writer Virginia Phiri while
another writer Nomsa Ngwenya read passages from her Ndebele novel Izinyawo Zayizolo. The poet Dalitso
thrilled the audience with his spoken word antics.
In his
speech, Prof Mavhima viewed multilingualism as a major means of bringing
multicultural understanding and achieving national development.
“Multilingualism
is the basis upon which we can dialogue and co-exist, which leads to a better
understanding of different states,” he said.
He
highlighted why Zimbabwe should embrace multilingualism, saying people should
accept the fact that youngsters are not going to be constrained to work in
Zimbabwe only but for the global village and hence the need to prepare them
through various means.
The new
curriculum, he said, is structured in such a way that it embraces
multilingualism and multiculturalism.
“We have
taken the development of our languages very seriously. We now have sixteen
officially recognized languages, including sign language,” he said.
Prof
Mavhima added that languages such as Tonga are now being taught up to the
Ordinary Level in all districts where the language is predominant.
“Proactively
developing these languages is a way to building a nation. A proactive approach
will make every group comfortable in being identified as a Zimbabwean,” said
Minister Mavhima.
He added that reading is what develops
communication skills and people with good communication skills are considered
to be good leaders.
Mr. Mpfunya, Executive Director of Culture
Fund, addressed the most difficult question asked each time cultural workers
gather. What is culture?
He said
there are two standpoints from which culture is viewed, that is, the
traditional and the modern. However, he defined culture as ‘a process that
looks at how people before us lived and responded to their daily needs of
existence, things that allowed them to conquer the daily challenges. This
process, he stressed, looks at the requirements and needs of today and then
tries to see how we are responding to the challenges. He told guests at the
commemoration that we also need to imagine how we may want to live in the
future as we enter what is being called the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which
is an introduction of artificial knowledge into our daily lives. We have to
start imagining what that is doing to what we call culture.
As
regards the library in this definition of culture, Mr. Mpfunya said libraries
need to go back to the past, assess the present and look into the future and by
‘future’ he said he means the ‘machine-dominated life’.
How
refreshing it was to hear the truth from a culture expert that ‘knowledge and
understanding of literacy did not start recently or in the colonial era, but
started thousands of years ago on the continent of Africa.
“I
think people in the past perceived libraries differently. Libraries were
integrated into society – a life that was centered on interacting, they were
spaces where one could ask questions. If young people are to understand the
value of literacy, it is important that they first understand what culture is
and they should not be subjugated to ignorance,” said Mr. Mpfunya.
Echoing
the Minister’s call for young people to use the library as a space for
innovation, Mr. Mpfunya said, “The library is going to be a place for knowledge
and dreaming. The library is a very important player in aligning young people
to be empowered by the power of dreaming and daring to imagine things none in
their families or suburbs ever imagined. Libraries become spaces for
innovation, challenging ideas and soon we will have ‘made-in-Zimbabwe’
inventions.”
The
history of the current Harare City Library is an inspiring one. At the
celebration, Mr. Chandaengerwa, a committee member of the HCL, provided a brief
but amazing story of how a reading and recreation club in the pre-independent
era developed through the years to become a resourceful city library.
From a
club it evolved to become a small subscription-funded public library known as
the Salisbury Public Library. The relationship between the library and the city
council, which exists today, dates back to 1898 when the then Salisbury Town
Council appointed a library committee.
The
development of the library to its present day status, Mr. Chandaengerwa said,
has demonstrated that the library is a bastion of excellence in terms of
literacy.
“It being an all-encompassing resource centre,
it has seen people from all walks of life patronizing it and pursuing different
life-changing careers. The HCL has helped mould the culture of reading which is
critical to the development of this country especially in this environment
where digital changes mean that if we are left behind we will not make it as a
nation,” he said.
He too
extended the call to young students present at the event to make use of the
library. Young people, he said, are the real diamonds of this nation.
Students
from Tafara 5 Primary School, Selborne Routledge School, Malbereign Girls High,
and Kuwadzana 2 Primary School had a good time with Virginia Phiri who, on
behalf of the International Board for Books for Young People (IBBY) which she
chairs, engaged them in reading exercises and gave out book prizes.
Images
from the Event
Teachers
from different schools also received small donations of books from IBBY
A student
reads a book
Virginia
Phiri engaged students present at the celebration
Nomsa
Ngwenya reading from her Ndebele novel Izinyawo
Zayizolo
The
Minister receiving a gift from the HCL committee member Mr. Chandaengerwa
Writers
enjoying the proceedings
Some of
the delegates
Every
speech at the celebrations was interpreted in sign language
Poet
Dalitso performing
Mr.
Mpfunya presenting his speech
Mr.
Chandaengerwa speaking
Disability
does not mean inability: Beauty Ngwende, a visually impaired student
from Mabelreign Girls High, playing the guitar.
Reading
time!
Reading
Time!
From left: Tsitsi Nomsa Ngwenya, Virginia Phiri, Culture Fund Executive Director Farai Mpfunya and Writers International Network Zimbabwe founder and director Beaven Tapureta
HCL
HOSTS 2019 SHOKO FESTIVAL
The Harare City Library has
become a perennial venue for the Magamba Network event. Shoko Festival is one
of Zimbabwe’s international festivals of urban culture.
For a
long time the festival has used the library as one of its major venues and this
choice of venue has proved the potential of the space provided by the library
for such activities of such immense magnitude.
This
year, Shoko Festival ran under the theme Good
Vibes Only from and some of its workshops were hosted by the library from
September 27 to 29. The workshops included those on ‘Intellectual Property,
Publishing Rights and Record Labels’, ‘Music Management’, and ‘State of the
Internet’.
The HCL
Assistant Librarian Takwana Masunda has urged individuals and organizations to
take advantage of the library’s proximity to the city centre and its
comfortable and hospitable facilities for their events.
HEALTH
MATTERS!
Don’t Forget To Visit Our Resourceful ‘Consumer Health Corner’
Don’t Forget To Visit Our Resourceful ‘Consumer Health Corner’
The
books available at the Health Corner were donated by the Rotary Club which
received them from the Harare Distribution Committee of the Book Aid
International. This information was left out in the article about the Health
Corner launch in our previous newsletter.
SOME
GOOD NEWS!
Active Marketing International, a marketing, public relations
and advertising consultancy, has come close to you now. The company provides
services such as printing, binding, lamination, exhibition stands design,
vehicle branding, billboards, screen printing, and embroidery. Visit the Harare
City Library offices for more information.
THANK YOU FOR READING OUR
NEWSLETTER
