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ISSUE: 5
KAMPALA INTERNATIONAL BOOK FAIR 2014 TRANSITIONING INTO 2015 |
The English Poet, Geoffrey Chaucer was after all right
when he said that all good things must come to an end. So the curtains
went down on the 22nd Kampala International Book Fair at UMA Show
ground on Friday 14th March 2014.
Everyone had indeed looked forward to the event in
great anticipation. In many ways, the event did not disappoint and word
that was doing the rounds was that the exhibitors all agreed this was
the best organized event in many years. Having attracted publishing,
book distribution, printing companies, NGOs and government agencies
from Uganda, Kenya and India this was the biggest book fair in many
years. This was of course a bonus to the organizers, a partnership made
up of Uganda Publishers Association, National Book Trust of Uganda,
Hedge Uganda and Kampala Capital City Authority.
The traffic inflow of exhibition visitors was equally
impressive including scientists, professors, school teachers, literacy
people, students, parents and others, although in the future the target
could be set higher to say 20% of population in Kampala City. There
were many high points of the Kampala International Book Fair 2014 and
here below I bring you some:
The Kampala City Children’s Reading Tent that was
oversubscribed by schools. In the short four days, children from 60
primary schools in Kampala had been hosted by the team at the reading
tent. Every child enjoyed making shoes for sale using paper,
storytelling, reading etc. Nakasero Primary school did the honours of
entertaining guests at the closing ceremony and their memorable dance
being kadodi.
The Literacy Café although short on coffee, provided
the space that authors used optimally to push forward their agenda. The
café was a busy place that witnessed exchanges between university
professors, editors, publishers, copyright managers, textbook writers,
fiction writers, dancers and painters on different subjects. While some
university research professors were bashed for writing poorly their
theses/research papers and sometimes plagiarism, poets and dancers
hailed collaboration as a means to promote exposition and advance
literary creativity and the arts.
The global village was perhaps the most action packed
event with over 95 students from 10 countries taking part. The students
showcased some unique aspects of their culture that ranged from
Japanese Sumo Wrestlers and sushi, Dutch Dykes, Kenyan brew, Ugandan
Kanzu etc. The arrival of Miss Uganda Stellah Nantumbwe to crown the
event, sent the crowd into a frenzy. Everyone wanted a selfie with Miss
Uganda- well the sign of how technology is actually evolving our
culture.
The closing ceremony which was presided over by Dr.
Judith T. Tumusiime the Deputy Executive Director of Kampala Capital
City Authority was the climax of the Kampala International Book Fair.
KCCA is keen to brand Kampala as a city of literacy and literature. The
literary arts it is believed form a major tourist attraction to the
city.
The partners- Uganda Publishers Association, National
Book Trust of Uganda, Hedge Uganda and Kampala Capital City Authority
are pleased to invite you to the 23rd Kampala International Book Fair due 10-14th March 2015
at UMA Show ground, Kampala. The event will be bigger and pledges more
opportunities for business to business engagements and author forums.
The 23rd Kampala International Book Fair is the leading market place
for content across platforms i.e. print, audio, film, tv and digital.
More information is available here: www.klabookfair.com
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The KIBF 2014 Picture Story |
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