Hensley Daniel Speaks To Local Authors
Charlestown, Nevis
April 24, 2009
A call was made to Nevisians to invest in books, since it was an investment in education that paid dividends.
Deputy Premier of Nevis Hon. Hensley Daniel made the call on the occasion of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s (UNESCO) World Book and Copyright Day 2009 under the theme “Celebrating our Local Authors” on Thursday.
He reminded Nevisians that they had to function in a knowledge based society, in which the exchange of knowledge and information was vital to their survival.
“Every home should have a library or a book centre. We will only be able to take advantage of globalisation and trade liberalisation if we have a knowledge based society,” he said.
He contended that the occasion of World Book Day should be used to broaden interest in books and in reading and those who could read had a responsibility to do so.
However, he said the ability to read should not be use to maintain class and social distinctions but instead the literate persons in the community should adopt the strategy “Each One Read With One”, mindful of the fact that ignorance anywhere threatened literacy everywhere.
Mr. Daniel also urged persons to use books for gifts to children which would help deepen their interest in reading.
“Books help to nurture the literacy development of society. When we all cherish books and read them, we are in fact promoting literacy. By reading books, we expand our horizons. They also help us to put away old stereotypes which impair human interaction,” he said.
The Deputy Premier said the Nevis Island Administration continued to play its part to ensure reading took root in the community and through the Department of Library Services had recently established the Nevis Reads Project.
Notwithstanding, Mr. Daniel urged the public to support the project which provided books and other reading materials.
“There is too little understanding of critical social and economic issues. These issues need to be better informed by reading so that the quality of debate can be improved,” he said.
While he used the occasion to commend all local writers who he said played a vital role in the literary development of Nevis, Mr. Daniel pushed for the public to patronise the work of the writers.
He told the writers that the copyright laws would help to protect their original work and would also contribute to breaking the tradition of poor writers and rich publishers.
“The book is a source of revenue and we urge writers to link the publication of their work to the achievement of financial rewards,” he said.