A few key players at Book Dash reflect on what they've learnt over the last 12 months of the coronavirus pandemic and the impact on the worlds of publishing, representation and social impact. Visit the Book Dash website for more information and free books here.

Photos (from left to right): Tarryn-Anne Anderson, Dorette Louw, Mathapelo Mabaso, Julia Norris, Michelle Matthews

2020 has taught me that in the midst of so much chaos, confusion and hurt in the world, it is more important than ever to instill love and inspire acceptance into the hearts of everyone we can. A perfect place to start is with our children.

As a child growing up in South Africa, very little if anything that I read and saw in the media represented my reality. There was no white Christmas nor was there a subway like the one in Manhattan.

As I grew older it became clear that the media I consumed used examples drawn from a totally different set of life experiences. No one “out there” looked or sounded anything like me. The subtle message I received was that my own life experiences didn’t matter.

Today as a parent and writer, I have a responsibility to children to make sure that no other child feels like they do not belong or matter. Thanks to Book Dash we can strive to create a world in which all children can see themselves represented in the pages of a book, while also making these books accessible to them in their home languages.

Mathapelo Mabaso is a brand strategist and volunteer writer for Book Dash

The pandemic highlighted the importance of having printed books in the home, instead of children spending hours in front of screens. 

Firstly, there is a scientific argument in favour of printed books: a child’s brain develops the most rapidly in the first 5 years of their life, and reading printed books (as opposed to spending time in front of screens) helps to increase and organise the brain’s white matter, setting the brain up for optimal learning going forward (the conclusion of clinicians at the Cincinnati Children’s Reading and Literacy Discovery Center). 

Secondly, the reality is that many South Africans are excluded from using online resources because of issues around digital  access, the high cost of data and the low penetration of smart devices. In a context where connectivity is a problem, printed books are essential to support children’s development and preparing them for school. During lockdown many of Book Dash’s ECD distribution partners managed to keep sending our books home to the children in their care. The consistent feedback from families is that these books have been a refuge for children and adults alike, creating a spark for a shared, fun activity that strengthens emotional bonds and increases feelings of security.

Dorette Louw is a Director at Book Dash

If there were ever a time to consider generosity as a doctrine, it was 2020. As Arundhati Roy said in an interview in April, “This virus has worked like an MRI or like an X-Ray on societies & countries and exposed their barebones … amplifying all the weaknesses, all the injustices…’ Individuals, organisations and countries were forced to recognise rampant inequality and make a choice: Some doubled-down and stockpiled resources for themselves, while many chose to share what they had in the hopes of creating a more equal experience for all.

A large number of institutions, especially those in education chose to reduce barriers to their content this year -- embracing a spirit of sharing that for-profit businesses don’t often consider in their models. Snapplify opened their library of local educational materials for free access and Tanzanian-based children’s edutainment powerhouse Ubongo chose to reclassify all their content from copyright-protected to Creative Commons licensing. They joined a league of organisations worldwide who create and share high quality “open educational resources” (OER). 

At Book Dash, this doctrine of “open” has defined our approach from the start: We always knew that an open license would enable exponential impact for our beautiful African picturebooks. This means they’re free to read, download and print. We were inspired early on by organisations leading the way and have been lucky enough to present alongside some at celebrations of “open” like the Open Publishing Fest, hosted by leaders in the industry at the Coko Foundation. 

I’d love to see this spirit of generosity continue past the current time of the pandemic-induced crisis, truly believing we’re all richer when resources are shared.

Julia Norrish is the Executive Director at Book Dash

At the tail-end of an incredibly challenging year, what is clearer now than ever before is the importance that agility, grit, and a collective response plays in overcoming the new and existing challenges faced in learning and literacy, globally. 

Accessibility to digital tools and content was imperative to continued learning this year, and it's encouraging to see how these have been embraced. Book Dash’s website visits alone have increased by 500% compared to 2019.  Hundreds of thousands of young readers are now interacting with digital reading and learning tools, daily. Many of them are using these tools for the first time, and in situations where they have far less support than they would have had ordinarily. Through this, we’ve learned that access to digital content and tools is not enough. We've also seen how important engaged and empowered teachers, parents and other care-givers are to building reading communities – whether these are facilitated with hardcopy or digital books. 

Coming together, listening to each other, and adapting to change quickly and effectively is crucial to establishing successful online reading practices, regardless of whether you are building the tools, implementing them, or using them day-to-day.

Tarryn-Anne Anderson is a founding member of Book Dash and the Growth Director at Snapplify.