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| PABA News: PABA Conference: The Book Trade in Africa in the 21st Century: Status, Challenges and Opportunities. 4th-5th September 2008 Read more about PABA conference > Pan African Booksellers Association Our vision is of a self-sustaining bookselling trade that works with its book industry partners to promote, encourage and sustain a culture of reading throughout Africa. To achieve this we work with our members, the national bookselling organisations of 25 African countries, for the recognition of booksellers within the book industry. Booksellers play a vital but often misunderstood role in the transmission of authors’ thoughts to the reading public. They are the vital final link in the book chain, providing access to a wide choice of books for the readers who are their customers. PABA’s aims are to: Improve access to books throughout Africa by developing and organising African Booksellers through their national membership organizations Encourage and assist national booksellers organizations in their representations to their governments on matters of policy affecting the book trade Work with national bookselling organizations to negotiate trade terms with commercial publishers and government publishing agencies that are fair to all Establish professional standards in the bookselling trade and provide training opportunities for all African booksellers so as to improve their performance Work with educationists, librarians and publishers to identify and develop markets for books other than those needed for schooling and further education Conduct and encourage research into bookselling and book distribution throughout Africa and compile and disseminate information that will inform the commercial development of the whole book industry. Recent milestones 2000 and 2001 PABA runs capacity building workshops for booksellers in Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia and Tanzania. September 2000 PABA in partnership with ADEA and National Book Trust of Uganda (NABOTU) conducts a workshop for booksellers. The theme of the workshop is “strengthening the roles of stake holders in the book industry”. The workshop, brings together authors, publishers, printers, booksellers and librarians, and helps these stakeholders in the Ugandan book industry to sort out their roles. November 2000 APNET and PABA meet in Accra, Ghana to discuss ways on how they can work together to promote book trade. February 2001 Representatives of PABA and APNET meet with Executive Secretary of ECOWAS in Abuja, Nigeria to exchange ideas and present the problems of the book sector in the ECOWAS sub-region. August 2001 PABA organises Publisher-Bookseller Interface workshop for African booksellers in Harare, Zimbabwe. August 2001 PABA and APNET sign a Memorandum of Understanding in which the two organisations express their intention to work together and develop strategies for advocacy, training, reading promotions and the stabilization of terms of trade. >Read the Memorandum of Understanding May 2002 PABA in partnership with ADEA and the Nigerian Book Foundation holds a workshop for stakeholders in the book industry. The theme of the workshop is "understanding the roles of stakeholders in the Nigerian Book Sector". August 2002 PABA organises marketing workshop for African booksellers in Harare, Zimbabwe September 2002 PABA, with APNET and Book Aid International, co-hosts a workshop in Kampala, Uganda on the theme of Books for Development. The workshop brings together key stakeholders in the book chain from Ghana, Uganda, and Zambia with the goals of increasing mutual understanding and collaboration between librarians, booksellers, and publishers and giving books and access to formation greater prominence on the policy agenda at national level. September 2003 A strategy of strengthening the role of book selling in Africa through enhanced collaboration with publishers is explored at a meeting in Nairobi attended by representatives from APNET. September 2004 PABA signs a memorandum of understanding with BAI. The MOU outlines shared aims and objectives to which both organisations are committed and provides a framework for developing practical collaboration. May 2005 PABA collaborates with INASP and ACP-EU in the publication of "A Practical Guide to Bookselling" edited by Oluronke Orimalade and Bridget Impey. Available in English and French the guide provides essential information of use to all African booksellers. September 2005 PABA AGM and Annual Booksellers Convention is held during the International Book Fair in Nairobi, Kenya. A five-year strategic plan for the Association is formally adopted. PABA members participate in a workshop during which a competency-based framework for basic and advance bookselling skills is established. The PABA executive committee forms a training sub-committee and several PABA members volunteer to prepare first drafts of training materials. >Read the Strategic Plan (PDF format) May 2006 PABA holds Strengthening partnership workshop for publishers, booksellers, librarians, authors and policy makers in Lesotho and Swaziland. |
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