Book Caravan a success, say organisers

The five day-long Rwanda Book Caravan 2013 finally comes to an end, with a mini book fare at the Muhanga Youth Center on Monday. The first of its kind in the country, “La Caravane du Livre 2013” run from December 5-9, at select locations in Huye, Kigali, and Muhanga.Organised by Ishyo Arts Centre in partnership with Ikirezi Bookstore, SEMBURA (Association of writers from Burundi, DRC, Rwanda) and Savoir Plus Savoir Faire Bookstore (Burundi), the event brought together various stakeholders and well-wishers in the literary and publishing sector, including poets, writers, authors, illustrators, readers, cultural organisations, and publishers.Activities during the week included professional workshops, poetry sessions, mini book fares, and lively debates.Day 1:The caravan officially kicked off on December 5, at the Imberabyombi hall in Huye District with a mini-book fair that run from 2 pm till 6pm. The Imberabyombi hall’s central location in Huye town made it easy for people to attend. Parents, students, teachers, professors and people from all walks of life got a chance to buy books mostly by African writers, at subsidised prices. Book prices were slashed by 40%.However, the poetic soiree did not start at 6pm as had been scheduled. Blame it on the three guest authors (Dominique Mwankumi, (DR Congo); Alain Amrah Horutanga, (Burundi); and Dorcy Rugamba, (Rwanda) who could not make it to the venue on time. However, they later met a community of poets from Butare, with who they came up with the poetic soiree based on the heritage left by the late prominent artiste, Cyprien Rugamba, who incidentally is the father of DorcyRugamba.The poets read some poems from both father and son (Cyprien and DorcyRugamba.) The public and the authors got the opportunity to discuss the link between the work of Rugamba, the father, and Rugamba the son. They also discussed the work of the other two authors, (Dominique Mwankumi and Alain Horutanga. Alain Horutanga’s text, “Chere dame” was recited by one of the poets, while images from the books of Dominique Mwankumi were projected on a large screen.Day 2:On the second day, the authors met with students of Green Hills Academy, at Nyarutarama. Two classes from the secondary section worked with Dorcy and Alain, whereas two classes from the primary section worked with Dominique. The ones from secondary, together with some of their teachers presented songs, poems and plays on the work of the two authors. They also debated and freely asked the authors questions.Day 3:The caravan moved to the Ishyo Arts Centre for a series of professional workshops. Alain Horutanga led the way with a writing workshop with writers from Rwanda, and together, they formulated and wrote a joint text.Dorcy Rugamba held a workshop on theatre and, together with participants, composed a short play that they even played.Dominique Mwankumi dedicated his time to children from the Inema Arts Center in Kacyiru. He told them a story and asked them to draw a part of the story. He later sang with the kids along the session.Day 4:A mini book fair was held from 9am to 6pm at Librairie Ikirezi. The literary café (Café litteraire) started at 6pm, with local comedians reading the texts of the authors, occasionally singing to keep the harmony. After the book fare, the public, authors, and the panel of comedians debated, asked questions during the interactive session.Day 5:On the last day, the authors met students of Ecole Francaise Antoine de Saint Exupery and, like had happened earlier at Green Hills Academy, students made presentations and debated.In the afternoon they headed to the MuhangaYouth Centre, and here, Dominique presented students with his work, after which he taught them how to draw, and asked them to do so.Sandrine Umutoni, the Project Manager at Ishyo Arts Center had this to say about the caravan: “It was a pleasure hosting these three influential writers and witnessing them conduct workshops in creative writing, theatre and illustration for those wanting to improve their skills in those fields. Students in the different cities were very interested in learning more about the background of these writers and understanding how they managed to achieve success in their respective fields.This initiative which encourages a culture of reading among the entire population and promotes cultural diversity through literature, was very inspiring and confirmed that there is a need in our region to bring writers and readers together, train those who aspire to work in similar fields, and teach them ways to make a living out of their passion.”

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Book Caravan a success, say organisers