Talk:African Publishers Network

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I have done quite a bot of clear up work, but the notes at the bottomreaaly need to be attached to teh quotes.I cut the chunk on history out of the article, but it could form the start of a separate page on publishing in Africa?Harrypotter 10:18, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

History of publishing in Africa
It is important to recognize the history of publishing in Africa to get a sense of the industry’s advancements. African culture is rooted in the oral tradition; however, indigenous scripts and writing systems were formed to record information. The earliest roots of publishing in Africa are tied with European colonialism. Religious and educational materials were the main forms of reading materials. In the 1920’s colonial administrations or the nationalist government did not promote or advocate for indigenous publishing houses; the general policy in many territories was that local languages should not be developed in written form. A common metropolitan language was preferred so that Africans who were performing clerical jobs or working as servants or laborers to the administrators and missionaries could communicate.

In the 1960’s, textbook publishing became the main emphasis for the publishing industry. However as a result of the historical colonial rule and the educational curriculum having been formed in a European cultural context; it has been difficult for Africa to become independent and self sustaining in the publishing market. The African indigenous publishing industry has not been stable enough to publish, produce, and distribute textbooks. This has remained a critical issue today for APNET as textbooks are the most widely read and most stable form of revenue for publishers; the goal is to put textbook publishing in the hands of National Publishers Associations instead of the State or from corporations overseas.

New universities were established in the 1970’s which promoted African literature and literary magazines. Among other barriers, the reading audience was generally among the elite as the general population had low literacy rates and no access to literature. APNET is working to empower National Publishers Associations so that locally produced reading materials will be more easily available to everyone in the African community and not just the well-educated or elite.

In the post-colonial era, with the help of APNET, indigenous publishing is becoming more prevalent. Currently, African governments are realizing the importance of indigenous publishing and producing materials in local languages. Africa is the most linguistically diverse continent in the world with approximately 2000 languages spoken. This makes access to written material in a first language difficult for many African men, women, and children who live in rural areas. Fortunately, with the goal to eliminate illiteracy “The African governments have adopted ambivalent policies in regard to publications in local languages….It is understood by the Development Plan in Kenya that illiteracy among adults must be eliminated at all costs and that the medium best suited for the objective is the local language”