African books promoted in
Botswana
APNET display at the Commonwealth conference
of education ministers
Tainie Mundondo
Tainie Mundondo is Membership/Trade Promotion
Officer of APNET, the African Publishers Network. APNET, PO Box 3773,
Harare, Zimbabwe. Fax +263 4 705106; e-mail: apnet@harare.iafrica.com
The thirteenth Commonwealth Conference of Education
Ministers was held in Gaborone in July 1997 on the theme of Education
and Technology in the Commonwealth. A parallel convention, which included
a symposium and an exhibition, was attended by most Commonwealth members.
The symposium covered a wide range of subjects, including technology,
education and economic development; technology and education for all;
from paper to paperless; libraries and librarians in an information
age. Government ministries and commercial organisations were present,
and all supported the theme of the convention by addressing the issues
and exhibiting relevant materials and services.
The APNET stand was one of the few which exhibited
the finished book. Most others had brochures about their institutions
and activities, and the presence of books was much appreciated. APNET
exhibited 152 books from 14 member countries, mostly on science and
technology, although some visitors asked about cookery books and popular
African writers' novels. Most visitors were surprised at the variety
of books and the number of African countries publishing books.
APNET's participation was a step forward as most
visitors to the stand had not previously heard about APNET, and we were
able to distribute brochures about APNET's activities and information
on the books in the exhibition. The exhibition exposed APNET to people
who need to know about it, particularly government officials from member
countries. The most useful part of the event was the visit to the APNET
exhibition by the Commonwealth Ministers of Education.
The exhibition created contacts with people in
its member countries and was also a helpful guide to the countries where
APNET needs to market itself more. [end] [BPN, no 21, 1997, p 5.]
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