International Literacy Day in Tanzania

November 3, 2010

On September 8th, International Literacy Day in Tanzania was marked with a celebration of the Burt Award for African Literature. At an event hosted by CBP with Robert Orr, Canadian High Commissioner, as guest of honour, the shortlisted winners of the 2010 Burt Award prize were announced. In no particular order they are: W.E. Mkugya for his story Face under Sea (Mangrove Publishers), Eliesha Lema for her story In the Belly of Dar es Salaam (E & D Vision Publishes), and Nahida Esmail for her title Living in the Shade (Oxford University Press). The authors are finalizing the manuscripts with their publishers, and once in print, the jury will review the titles again and the order of first, second and third place will be determined.
Thousands of copies of the Burt Award winning titles are distributed to schools and libraries in the country to ensure that they are widely read and appreciated. They are also sold commercially through national booksellers.

Canadian High Commissioner Robert Orr awarding one of the shortlisted writers, Nahida Esmail, author of Living in the Shade published by Oxford University Press.  Photo:  CBP

To read more about the International Literacy Day in Tanzania, visit : http://simbadeo.wordpress.com/2010/09/09/world-literacy-day-in-dar/