Go and #BUYABOOK

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Pretoria – South Africans have been encouraged to visit local book stores during National Book Week and participate in the #BUYABOOK campaign, at a minimal cost of R2O - and donate it to others.

Speaking at the launch of National Book Week in Johannesburg on Thursday, Deputy Minister of Arts and Culture Rejoice Mabudafhasi said the book sector and business sector had provided books at Bargain Books, Exclusive Books, Pan Macmillan, SA
Penguin, Random House SA and NB Publishers as part of the partnership of the #BUYABOOK campaign, together with the South African book Development Council. 

She said the campaign, which primarily aims to encourage book reading, targets adults, children, youth and students, as well as librarians, teachers, parents and caregivers.

“Reading statistics report that only 14% of the South African population are active book readers, and a mere 5% of parents read to their children and over half of South African households (51%) do not have a single leisure reading book.

“Hence we deemed it fit that we continue to strengthen our partnership with the South African Book Development Council (SABDC) as we instil a culture of reading, with a strong focus on promoting indigenous languages, local authors as well as library awareness and access,” said the Deputy Minister.

National Book Week aims to create better-informed and self-reliant communities by investing in the literacy of young people and underprivileged adults.

“It is through reading that we will continue to ensure that our diversity and unique heritage unite us as a nation. Reading will take us on a journey to discover who are we as a people and embrace our diversity.

“National Book Week is an important initiative in encouraging the nation to value reading as a fun and pleasurable activity, and to showcase how reading can easily be incorporated into one’s daily lifestyle.”

She said the 2015 National Book Week will be an exciting and vibrant week as people are encouraged to read and efforts are made to get more books to South Africans.

Apart from the #BUYABOOK campaign, the department will also have a bus criss-crossing the country with reading ambassadors and story tellers.

The bus features activities such as a toy library, poetry, workshop and a mascot called Funda Bala who will distribute books to children.

The National Book Week forms part of the Heritage Month activities. – SAnews.gov.za