storymoja hay festival nairobi 2010
Storymoja Hay Festival brings together writers, storytellers, environmentalists, poets, business leaders and education professionals to share stories and ideas. The festival will also be the culmination of a city-wide storytelling competition for young people (the Kwani Short Story Competition), the Storymoja Hay Poetry Competition, and a chance to engage with the Right to Read campaign to get a book in the hand of every Kenyan.
Festival participants in 2010 include:
Benjamin Zephaniah, Tiffany Murray, Petina Gappah, Shailja Patel, Andy Middleton, Cat Weatherill, Katrice Horsely, Michela Wrong, Jane Bussmann, Aernout Zeverbergen, Sandra Mushi, Oyunga Pala, Sunny Bindra, John-Sibi Okumu, Doreen Baingana, Ngwatilo Mawiyoo, Sitawa Namwalie, and many more...
Storymoja Hay Festival 2010 takes place at the Railway Sports Club, next to Uhuru Park in Nairobi.
Education Programme
• The British Council will facilitate the attendance of 2,000 children from across Kenya to attend the Festival free of charge.
• 20% of all tickets will be made available free to students to attend the events at the Festival.
• A reading marathon will be launched at the Festival.
• Education links will be developed with Room to Read, KOEE, Book Aid International and Oxfam.
• A series of workshops will be made available to students for masterclasses with leading writers, storytellers, journalists and performers. There will also be further post-festival mentoring and manuscript development workshops.
• In 2009 the first internship from Kenya to Hay was initiated with a three-month placement for an existing Storymoja employee to join the Hay Festival team. The second employee participated in the placement in 2010, and the 15-year-old winner of the storytelling competition also attended the 2010 Hay Festival.
• Storytelling Competition winners from 40 schools/universities will work with leading mentors to hone their performances. In 2010 the competition is sponsored by the US Embassy.
• The 2010 Storymoja Hay Festival poetry competition winners will be announced, and will have a chance to showcase their work at the Festival.
• The 2010 Storymoja/Generation Kenya photo stories project will exhibit and showcase winning entries at the Festival.
• A careers workshop based on the Storymoja Careers Encyclopaedia (in development) will be offered as a key event for high school students.
• Marine awareness and the need for conservation will be taught through a daily ‘under sea’ party, featuring skits from Matatu from Watamu, sing-alongs, etc. The set will be created by children themselves through facilitated art and craft activities.
• Parenting talks will be delivered by child psychologists and education experts, covering topics such as getting help for your children with learning difficulties, or supporting gifted children.
