By DAYO ADESULU

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO, has nominated Port Harcourt for its World Book Centre in 2014.
According the Port Harcourt WBC Project Director and Founder, Rainbow Book Club, Mrs. Koko Kolango, the purpose is to leverage on chances for improvement in literacy rates, reading habits of youth in Nigeria and Africa.

By this nomination, Port Harcourt would host the UNESCO World Book Capital (WBC) from April 23rd 2014 to April 22nd 2015.

Kolango said “Port Harcourt was nominated after the Selection Committee (by Public Bid) made up of UNESCO representatives as well as the International Publishers Association(IPA-UIE), International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and IBF  acknowledged the best programme dedicated to books and reading Rivers State.”

According to her, the selection was basically on account of the quality of its education programme that focuses on youth and for impacting  on improving Nigeria’s culture of books, reading, writing and publishing to improve literacy rates.
“Come April 23rd (UN World Book and Copyright Day) 2014 the current World book Capital (2013-Bangkok) will formally handover to Port Harcourt.

“The Rainbow Book Club, implementers of the initiative, has designed the year long activities of the PH WBC to enlist  stakeholders in the book industry (writers, publishers, booksellers, librarians, readers) and the general public to improve  literacy rates and reading habits of the people in PH, Nigeria and indeed sub-Saharan Africa.

Meanwhile,  Mrs. Koko Kolango, in a press briefing held  in Ikoyi- Lagos, said it was a prayer answered to revamp the pitiable Nigeria’s Education and Literacy Statistics adding, the lowest literacy rate worldwide is found in sub-Saharan Africa, South and West Asia.
She added that many primary school leavers have very limited reading and writing capabilities, stressing  that the youths, which comprise 70% of the nation’s population are target of the PH WBC 2014 programmes.

Her words: “Coming up after the week long opening ceremony which include a reading with the Nigerian President, an international literature exhibition, opening of the PH Book Centre (planned as literacy hub for the city), it will follow by Reading Tree (RT).”
Kolango explained that the Reading Tree (RT) – Primary Schools students from 50 schools will participate in the RT weekly.

“The activities will include carefully selected books ranging from timeless classics to African folk tales.”
According to her, as children ascend the reading tree, they will be rewarded adding that  weekly boy clubs will run alongside to compliment the RT.

Further, in the Walking Book, Junior Secondary School students from Unity Schools across the 6 geo-political zones in the country she stated will be engaged in writing a chapter each of a book.
The book will be edited, published (in electronic and hard copy) and made available for sale before the end of the PH World Book Capita tenure.