UAE organisations to support recreational reading among visually impaired in Africa

  • Date: 16-Jun-2022
  • Source: Gulf News
  • Sector:Oil & Gas
  • Country:UAE
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UAE organisations to support recreational reading among visually impaired in Africa

Dubai: The Africa Publishing Innovation Fund (APIF) — a grant-giving program co-led by Dubai Cares, a UAE-based global philanthropic organisation and the International Publishers Association (IPA) — has selected five new projects across Africa to receive part of US $200,000 in funding in 2022 aimed at fostering a love of recreational reading among visually impaired and print disabled children and young people. This is the third iteration of the APIF program, which is funded by a multi-year, $800,000 donation from Dubai Cares. The APIF Committee, chaired by IPA President Bodour Al Qasimi and comprising renowned publishers from Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, Tunisia, and South Africa, selected the winners from scores of applications submitted from 18 African countries. African publishing is steeply tilted towards textbooks — up to 90% of sales in some markets — with reading typically associated with education, and not recreation. The closure of schools during the Covid-19 pandemic, and the impact on government purchasing of textbooks, exposed the vulnerability of the publishing sector in African markets. • Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), Pan-Africa • Book Aid International, Uganda and Zimbabwe • OliveSeed, Kenya • PRAESA, South Africa • Yanbow Al Kitab, Morocco IPA President