Johannesburg, South Africa - September 8, 2023 - International Literacy Day Announcement.
In response to the ongoing national literacy crisis for young learners in South Africa, M³C (Making Media Move Culture ©) is proud to announce #Read4TheYouth, a new reading awareness campaign designed to inspire collective participation in addressing this challenge. The campaign was conceptualised in collaboration with the Nguvu Collective in association with Change.org's We Create Change initiative that seeks to build a community of advocacy champions in South Africa, and empower the most marginalised groups in society.
In South Africa 81% of fourth graders, aged between 9 and 10, battle with reading for comprehension. A recently published study by Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (Pirls) ranked South Africa last across 57 countries globally. Among the many reasons identified behind this crisis is a dearth of books published in African languages. This is why I created “The Voices of Our Ancestors”; a limited special edition double volume anthology of classic African literature available in Sesotho and English.
* (disclaimer: the images of the book used in the photos above are just proof copies, the final authors copy will look slightly different).
Published In association with the International African Institute, hosted at SOAS University of London, and The Morija Museum & Archives in Lesotho, “The Voices of our Ancestors” will include a copy of Thomas Mofolo's South African classic, Chaka, and copy of Black Hawk, a novel written by the author's first born son which has recently been translated into English for the first time. The main objective for #Read4TheYouth is to help improve South Africa's reading culture by reviving national interest in celebrated African stories and folklore that will inspire young people to want to read. The call to action for the campaign is to petition the Department of Basic Education to support the campaign by including the anthology in their 2024 National Reading Sector Plan. Only 20,000 copies of the anthology are being produced in English for sale as an NFT book collection. For every purchase made, a free copy of the original Sesotho version will be reserved for young learners from disadvantaged schools and under-resourced communities.
Written in Sesotho in 1909 and first translated into English in 1931 by F.H Dutton, Chaka has formed the foundation of all modern interpretations of the Shaka Zulu legend. This new family edition includes Daniel P. Kunene’s English translation, a foreword by Stephen Gill, the head of the Morija Museum & Archives in Lesotho, and a new interpretation of the text by celebrated South African author and poet, Antjie Krog. Chaka is a genuine masterpiece that represents one of the earliest major contributions from Africa to the corpus of modern world literature. In 2002 Chaka was ranked in the top 12 of Africa’s 100 best books of the 20th century. Thomas Mofolo was also a teacher, and taught in South Africa before his literary career began. In 1937 he acquired a farm in the Eastern Cape of South Africa but was evicted under the Bantu Land Act. All the proceeds generated from the anthology will be used to reclaim and develop his farm into a cultural hub dedicated to the preservation of African folklore and storytelling.
The campaign is set to intensify in the build-up to heritage day (24th September) this month which was traditionally celebrated as Shaka Day in the KwaZulu-Natal area. Serendipitously, the story of the Zulu warrior king was also adapted into a critically acclaimed TV drama series this year, and has left the nation eager to learn more about this iconic figure.
To support the campaign please sign the petition HERE and share it with your network.
We're also fundraising R60,000 to complete a short film for the anthology at the Thomas Mofolo library at the National University of Lesotho which will be used to promote the campaign.
Donations can be made to:
Making Media Move Culture
FNB Bank
Account number: 6261 859 5386
Branch code: 250 655
Please use the following text as your reference: #TheVoicesofourAncestors
Sincerely,
Thomas Mofolo
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About Change.org:
Change.org is the world’s largest tech platform for people-powered, social change. More than half a billion people across more than 196 countries use their technology-driven petition and campaign tools to speak up on issues they’re passionate about. Approximately 70,000 petitions are created and supported on their platform every month, with 1.7 million new people joining their global network of users every week. Their platform is free to use, open to all, and completely independent because it’s funded by the people who use it.
About M³C:
M³C (Making Media Move Culture ©) is a digital communications media lab, and a formula for improving the future with stories, and tools rooted in social change and sense making. Founded by Thomas Mofolo in 2016, the lab specialises in project managing digital outreach & advocacy campaigns, Communication for Development (C4D), civic journalism, reparative media, and social innovation.
The lab operates remotely on a fixed-term consultancy basis in collaboration with a network of independent consultants, non-profits, civil society organisations, social movements, activists, and freelance creative talent. Additionally, the lab also doubles as a think tank that produces research related to critical social media pedagogy, and futures literacy for civic transformation.
For more info contact M³C at: letschat@m3c.media
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