The Reader Online

Today is International Literacy Day, upon which, each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally.

Today one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women while 75 million children are out of school.

Since its foundation in 1946, UNESCO has been at the forefront of global literacy efforts and is dedicated to keeping literacy high on national, regional and international agendas. However, with some 776 million adults lacking minimum literacy skills, literacy for all remains an elusive target.

UNESCO’s literacy programmes aim to create a literate world and promote literacy for all.

The Bloggers Unite Team have set up a special site dedicated to this day, click here to view it and join in.

Kayd, along with its partner Redsea-online, are proud to announce the inaugural Somali Arts and Culture Festival to be held in Hargeysa, Somaliland, from 22nd-26th July 2009. The festival has been named Mooge Festival, after the celebrated and influential Somali musician Mohammed Mooge, and will incorporate the Hargeysa International Book Fair (HIBF).

The festival focuses largely, but not exclusively, on issues relating to gender equality and active citizenship, with particular attention paid to how they affect young people. As well as working with schools and civic groups, the festival has invited a variety of different artists to share their expertise in using their tools to examine and challenge what they perceive as inequities.

Kayd is an organisation promoting the freedom of expression through art and culture in the Somali territories, and aims to encourage the tolerance and appreciation of the diverse Somali culture.

If you would like any more information, here’s a link back to a previous post about HIBF.

War and Peace: an Anthology of Somali Literature is a unique and rare collection of classic Somali poems and stories exploring matters of conflict and its mediation. The work has been collected by Ismaaciil Aw Aadan and Axmed Aw Geeddi: poets who have an enormous understanding of Somali classical poets, their poetry, and the historical context of their literature which spans over 200 years.

The collection explains how pastoral nomadic communities were brought into conflict, and explores the role which literature can play in matters of peace-keeping: providing both Somali and non-Somali readers with a fascinating insight into the history of a creative community which may have otherwise been lost.

The anthology will be launched at the Mooge Festival and Hargeysa International Book Fair, and can now be ordered from Red Sea Online.

STOP THE TRAFFIK is a global activist movement campaigning to end the forcing of innocent people into slavery, sweat shops, sexual exploitation, or any other form of abuse.

Steve Chalke, Chair of STOP THE TRAFFIK and UN. GIFT Special Advisor on Community Action Against Human Traffiking, has composed STOP THE TRAFFIK: People Shouldn’t be Bought & Sold, a book which outlines the very real forms of exploitation that are alive in the world today. He argues that traffiking is not only a global issue but also a problem within local communities, and should be dealt with as such. Included are the personal accounts of those who have been tricked or forced into some type of illegal activity, and factual and background information on trafficking is provided to explain exactly what trafficking is, and what can be done to stop it. The book also includes a chapter written by Cherie Blair, human rights lawyer and campaigner for women’s rights.

STOP THE TRAFFIK: People Shouldn’t Be Bought & Sold is available now.

Readers, your help is needed!

We are looking for suggestions to help us compile a list of around 50 books which might be published by Kayd Organisation, to be used as recommended reading for people interested in Somalia/Somaliland or Somali territories as whole. The books might be ‘classic’ English texts, poetry, travel writing, or works of a more political or historical nature. Please draw our attention to anything you judge to be worthy of consideration! (Use the ‘comments’ section at the bottom of this post to leave your suggestions.)

Do read the information provided on Kayd Organisation and the Somali Arts & Culture Festival – hopefully it will offer a clearer insight into the above request.

Kayd Organisation

Based in London, Kayd deals primarily with the devlopment and continuation of the Somali Arts & Culture Project in both the UK and the Somali territories, and promotes the extension of Somali work into a wider audience. In order to further promote the work, Kayd, in association with its partner organisation RedSea online, propose to organise the first ever Somali Arts & Culture Festival, with the objective of supporting freedom of expression through the arts. The event will be held in Hargeysa, Somaliland from 22-26th July 2009, and the theme for 2009 will be ‘Censorship’; exploring how artists participating in the festival have experienced acts of censorship, whilst still celebrating the freedom of creativity.

Hargeysa International Book Fair (HIBF)

Hargeysa International Book Fair (HIBF) will be an essential part of the festival. Aiming to display 5,000 books from both local and international writers, the main objective for HIBF is to encourage members of the public to engage with writers and their work, and to inspire them into joining the RedSea Book Lending Centre. Each year, the festival will centre on one country in particular – 2009 being the year dedicated to the UK – and will display books devoted not only to ‘classic’ British Literature, but to the philosophy, politics, and history of the UK, as well as many more diverse and interesting topics. The aim is to provide and insight into the society, culture, and literature of the chosen country.

Kayd has entitled the event: ’Mooge Festival’, in honour of the celebrated Somali musician, singer and teacher Mohamed Mooge Liibaan; a man who believed in the responsibility of the artist to stand up for creative freedom, even when faced with censorship and imprisonment.