Abstracts, Seminar 7 |
The abstracts are copied as received. |
Writer-translator Tetsuta Watanabe , Australia
Writer & illustrator Bernardita Munoz Chereau, Chile
Mingzhou Zhang , China
Dr. Carole Bloch, South Africa
• “Children´s Power in Swedish libraries – Background and Case Study” (1) (Abstract 113) Librarian Pia Cronholm , Sweden • “Children´s Power in Swedish libraries – Background and Case Study” (2) (Abstract 112) Librarian Ingrid Kallstrom Nilsson , Sweden .
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Empowerment through reading: the meaning of *bunko--a small story-based community in Melbourne , Australia
Tetsuta Watanabe
Abstract: ‘Bunko' means ”storage of books” or “home-community library” in Japanese. Bunko has played a significant role in the history of modern Japan , particularly during post World War II era, by providing book-hungry children with opportunities to read.
Today there are still many bunko operating in Japan and in other parts of the world, such as Melbourne , Shanghai and Rome . Among them, bunko for children who speak Japanese and other languages are prospering. At these bilingual bunko, stories are read in both Japanese and the other language that children use, although normally the language with minority status is given priority. The author has been operating Melbourne Japanese-speaking Children's Bunko since 2001.
The role of a bilingual bunko is to enhance children's ability in **biliteracy. However, more significantly it is to empower children who live across linguistic, cultural and national boundaries through reading in languages and environments that are comfortable and familiar to them. Bunko is a small story-based community, where children share books with others, make friends, build confidence and cultural identity.
The author will talk about his experience in operating a bunko in a multilingual and multicultural society, Australia , and the unchanging significance of bunko in the history of Japanese children's literary culture. He will also comment on the supportive role played by the International Children's Bunko Association (ICBA).
* Bunko is both singular and plural term; e.g. one bunko, many bunko. **Biliteracy is normally defined as ability to read and write in multiple languages.
Tetsuta Watanabe Biography: Born 1962 in Japan . Tetsuta migrated to Australia with his family in 1996. After working as a language teacher for nearly twenty years, he became a freelance writer-translator of children's books. His most recent publication is Mori no Byouin ( The Bush Hospital , Fukuinkan Publisher, Tokyo 2007), a picture book illustrated by his artist wife Chaco Kato. Tetsuta founded Melbourne Japanese-speaking Children's Bunko in 2001 which has more than 20 member families. Tetsuta is a member of JBBY and ICBA (International Children's Bunko Association), and is a research associate of Linguistics Program, Monash University . He holds a PhD in linguistics. Tetsuta's late father, Shigeo Watanabe (1928-2006), was also a writer of children's books, a founder of JBBY, and vice president of IBBY (1978-80).
Contact details: Dr. Tetsuta Watanabe 45 Bartley Road , Belgrave Heights , Victoria , 3160 Australia Phone and fax: 61-3-9752-5770 (international), 03-9752-5770 (domestic) Email: twa03230@bigpond.net.au
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Libros palotes : First steps in a child-friendly publishing programme for Chile 's young readers
Libros palotes (in Chilean Spanish, the “pothooks” children draw as they learn to form their letters) is a new publishing venture producing easy readers for Chilean school children just learning to read. The books are a departure from national tradition, and were inspired by the methods and experience of the “Laesefidusen” programme, developed and published in the 1990s by the teaching unions' Dansklærerforeningens Forlag, to respond to poor reading comprehension results in Danish schools. Chile has shown equally poor results; national tests indicate 40% of nine-year-olds have only rudimentary reading skills, and cannot consistently extract explicit information, infer, interpret or identify types of text, for example. And an obvious lack in the national literacy programmes is attractive accessible books, matched to the range of reading abilities within the classroom, to encourage children to read and enjoy the experience. Like their Danish model, Chile 's Libros palotes address this need. In a pilot project the first collection, launched in October 2007, was tested in a group of schools, and the results will be discussed in this paper. Bernardita Muñoz Centro Chileno Nórdico de Literatura Infantil
BERNARDITA MUNOZ CHEREAU, from Chile , is a writer and illustrator of children's books with a degree in educational psychology from the Catholic University of Santiago and a master's degree in education from the University of London . In 2004 she published her first book, “El Pequeño Universo”, and has gone on to write and publish half a dozen more, including a short novel. She co-directs a portal for Recrea, a national publishing company, works as an educational evaluator in a number of schools and is currently engaged in research into school assessment. Her newest venture is the co-edition of a pioneering collection of easy readers, the Libros palotes, inspired by the Danish Danskfidusen programme. Bernardita lives in Santiago with her husband and daughter and her very new little son.
Year of birth: 1975 Nationality: Chilean
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IBBY's unique function in children's reading promotion in China
Background: China has 1.3 billion people with 167,000,000 under 18years of age, 1/5 of the world. Reading promotion in China is part of reading promotion movement of the world.IBBY is a unique international network of people who are committed to bringing children and quality books together, CBBY should extend IBBY into China and get feedback from China to IBBY and push forward reading promotion movement in the world as a whole.
Reading promotion before 30 th IBBY Congress : weak, scattered, separate and low efficient Simplified history of children's reading promotion in China and profile of CBBY before 2002. Reading promotion with IBBY since 2002 and before 30 th IBBY Congress. Preparation of the 30 th IBBY Congress: Promotion of IBBY Congress and IBBY and made IBBY popular in China .
The influence of the 30 th IBBY Congress in China .
Reading promotion after the 30 th IBBY Congress
Expansion of CBBY: establishment of 3 regional branches in Hong Kong, Shanghai , Shenzhen. International Children's Book Day and China Children's Reading Day United, professional, passionate and getting stronger and stronger,The Union Era of Children's Reading Promotion in China is just around the corner!
Profile of seminar speaker Mr. Mingzhou Zhang, Vice President of CBBY and President of Bridging Consulting Company (Beijing) Limited,the Congress Organizer of the 30 th IBBY World Congress in Macau 2006,and the Candidate by CBBY to run for 2008-2010 membership of Executive Committee of IBBY . I was born in 1968 in a mall poor village in rural area, by reading a picture book, I leaned there are a different dreamland other than the small village. I studied diligently but happily and graduated from Shanghai International Studies University and worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China after graduation. In 1998, I established my own company majoring in international cultural exchanges. Inspired and motivated at the 29 th IBBY Jubilee Congress in 2002, I got heavily involved in CBBY by establishing and sponsoring CBBY official website, linking with local reading promoters and bringing IBBY mission, IBBY people and IBBY experiences into China, initiated masterminded and organized series of reading promotion activities (including donations of books) in China. Thus strengthened nationally and internationally communications among writers ,illustrators, publisher, media, primary and middle school teachers, librarians, professors, kindergarten directors and teachers, professional reading promotion websites, psychologists, philosophers, parents, storytellers, students etc.
Contact details: Mailing Add: Room 305,Building No.6, Yonghejiayuan, No.3Dongbinhe Road , Dongcheng District, Beijing ,100013,P.R.China Email: cbby@cbby.org Tel: 0086-10-51026640 Mobile: 0086-13911905250 Fax:0086-10-51026642
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I
am the central co-ordinator of the Stories Across Africa project, one
of the core projects of the African Academy of Languages, the African
Union's official language organisation, and I work in the domain of early
childhood literacy and multilingual education in SA and Africa .
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Children's Power in Swedish Libraries – background and case study (1)
In Sweden, different projects on renewing and developing the libraries for children and young people have been going on , based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is a shift from a library perspective towards a child's perspective , i.e. from an organizational point of view to a user oriented way of looking at children and seeing it from their position. The outcome of the first part of this project is a collection of recommendations for the work of the public libraries for children, “In the Best Interests of the Child” (2003). These recommendations are based on relevant articles of the Child Convention and are meant to be used as a starting point towards a clear children's perspective, when drawing up goals for the activity and in deciding the daily work of the libraries.
The second phase of the project was pursued in order to apply the recommendations in the everyday work. A third part of this big project was completed in 2007. It was focused on how to make it easier for children to find, what they are searching for in the library.
The project has brought about changes. My conclusion is that, in order to put the child in focus, librarians have to provide the tools the child needs to “grasp the power of the library”.
Biographical note:
Pia Cronholm , Swedish children's librarian. B.A. in History of Art and Ethnology at Stockholm University 1966. Graduated librarian in 1971. Then worked for several years as school librarian followed by a position as children's librarian, Lidingö Public Library, until 2007. Member of IBBY since 2003.
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Children's Power in Swedish Libraries - background and case study (2)
One example of how libraries in Sweden are shifting from a library perspective towards a child's perspective is the Children's library in the House of Culture, Stockholm . The library in the Department for Children was rebuilt, reorganized and reopened in October 2005.
The aim was to build a library where a child is allowed to be a child.
Children's needs differ from those of adults. They also have different competences and abilities. They need space to play and move about in, and also for calm and peace.
Maria Montessori saw the progress of children as a stepwise development. In the library we try to apply her theories. Children of different age have different needs. As a consequence the library is divided into three sections to accommodate children of varying age groups.
In the library we try to make it possible for children to find their way among the books even if they are not yet literate. All media are divided into categories based on how children ask for books. In our ambition to make the navigation among the books easier we use images and objects as a complement to words.
We had a strong ambition to involve children in the preparatory work. Some of the arrangements in the library are a direct result of this ambition.
Biographical note:
Ingrid Kallstrom Nilsson , Swedish children's librarian. Graduated from teachers' college 1979. Studies in literature and promotion of children's reading. Graduated librarian 1984. Present position the House of Culture house, Stockholm . Chairman of the jury for Children's Books Awards from the Swedish Library Association since 2003. Member of IBBY since 2002.
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