Maiden African writers’ conference on girl-child holds in Abuja November 30

The maiden African Writers Conference and Awards themed “Re-imagining African Literature: New Voices New Narratives in the fight for the Girl-Child” is scheduled to hold between November 30 and December 1, 2018, at the International Conference Center, Abuja, Nigeria.

The conference which is being hosted by the African Writers Development Trust (AWDT) will bring together writers of African descent and serve as a platform for networking and advancing the collective interest of African writers. At the core of the conference’s mission is also the renewed fight for the rights of the girl-child in Africa.

While speaking to African Newspage in a pre-event interview, Nahida Esmail, a Tanzanian award-winning author who will also keynote the event said: “One of the objectives for the conference is to provide a gateway for continuous engagement and cross-interaction on the issue of the girl child.” She said the conference will as well “promote a cross-cultural discussion that will lead to the development of literature and strategies for the development of African literary space.”

Esmail is an author of four young adult novels and ten children`s picture books and a recipient of the 2015 Tanzania Women`s Achievement Award, in the education category. Other speakers at the event include Kenya`s Faith Mutheu, a girls advocate and winner of the 2017 Xtreem Awards for Most Influential Young Person in Kenya, and Nigeria`s Sandra Oma Etubiebi, a professional writer.

Several writers from across Africa and beyond will also be in attendance at the conference which is being supported by UNESCO, Writers Guild Kenya, the Association of Nigerian Authors, and Poetica Magazine, amongst others.