A non-governmental organisation, Mentoring Assistance for Youth and Entrepreneurs Initiative (MAYEIN), on Tuesday, celebrated the World Book and Copyright Day 2022 with over 80 students and young people in Ibadan, using the opportunity to organise online and onsite literary contests for them.
The World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated every 23rd of April, and this year’s theme was: ‘Read, so you never feel low’.
As part of the activities to mark the event, MAYEIN also organised online contesst in three categories: reading, poetry, and copyright for youths nationwide. Participation was high as submissions poured in from Benue, Kwara, Ekiti, Oyo, and Lagos states.
The Ibadan schools that participated in the onsite contests were: Bishop Onabanjo High School, Oba Akinyele Memorial High School, Community Grammar School Mokola, All Saints College Jericho, IMG Grammar Commercial School, Rochas Foundation, Anglian Grammar Commercial School, Valencia School, Federal Government Girls College Oyo, Molete Baptist College, and Kent Home.
While making her remarks, the founder and Executive Director of the NGO, Edem Ossai, commended the schools for attending the events and the publishers for donating books to support young people to read.
She said her organisation, which would be celebrating its 10th anniversary in May, started celebrating the World Book and Copyright Day, in 2018 to encourage reading culture in young people, especially young people in disadvantaged communities.
“A book changed my life. The knowledge you get from books can catapult you to the world stage,” Ossai said. “It is time you start writing your own story and experience so that others will learn from.”
The Head of Programmes of the organisation, Motunrayo Breathney Oripeloye, while giving her remarks, stated that in course of 10 years their programmes and activities have impacted over 10,000 youths in Ibadan and in some parts of the country.
She said they keyed into World Book and Copyright Day celebration five years ago because it covers one of the major pillars of their work, which is SDG 4: Quality Education.
“This is a way we are promoting the reading culture, which is fast dwindling among Nigerian Youths,” she said. “We implore parents, teachers, and everyone who have joined us to celebrate this day to seize the opportunity to promote literacy and reading culture among the youths and young people.”
The names of the judges and the sessions/contests they judged were: speed authoring (Ayo Oyeku, Atiba Adebola); bookathon (Adejoke Oyekan, Ayo Oyeku, Grace Kalu); copyright (Grace Kalu); poetry (Karimot Odebode); book review (Michael Olatubosun); question and answer (Ronke Giwa).
In courses of the event, some of the judges and facilitators donated some of their books to the participants.
Prior to the contest, the students were taught literary and poetry master-class lessons to prepare them for the contests.
The books (and their authors) used in the bookathon contest were: ‘Sarah House’ by Ifeanyi Ajaegbo; ‘African Delights’ by Siphiwo Mahala; ‘Disowned’ by Nina Iphechukwude Anyianuka; ‘The Best of Times’ by Okinba Launko; ‘Hippie Boy’ by Ingrid Ricks; ‘The Bakassi Debancle’ by Bassey Ewa Henshaw; ‘Foreign Gods Inc, by Okey Ndibe; ‘How to Save Life’ by Sara Zaro; ‘America, their America’ by JP Clark;‘On the Bank of the River’ by Ifeoluwapo Adeniyi.
At the end of the contest, the names of the winners in each contest (both the online challenge and the onsite challenge) were announced.
For the online competition: Adetola Rachel won the poetry contest, James Olusola won the copyright contest, and Taiwo Olayinka won the book review contest.
For the onsite competition, Adaramola Bridget, from All Saints College, won the speed authoring contest; while Aranson Adenike, from YcDEI, and Okolo Naomi, from Tabitha Home were runner ups.
Also for the onsite competition, Yusuf Oyinkansola, from All Saints College, won the bookathon contest; while Uyanweke Happiness, from Bishop Onabanjo School, and Johnson Pamilerin, from MAYEIN Youth Centre were runner ups
Ayodeji Folorunsho Eyinju, from YcDEI, won the Scrabble contest.
While presenting gifts to the winners and certificates to the participants, the judges urged the students/young people to continue reading and writing. They also promised to publish their books should they, in the future, write one.