The first issue of IBBY Asian Newsletter has come out and is definitely a must read! This newsletter belongs to all national sections in Asia: from the Middle East to the Far East, and contains a wealth of information and photos. Following the decision of the Asian national sections’ gathering at the 2010 IBBY Congress, two issues of this newsletter will be published each year (April and September).

Included in the April 2011 issue are:
• Report from Australia
• IBBY India’s activities
• News from Iran
• JBBY describes its wide ranging activities
• KBBY reports
• Alif Laila Book Bus Society Brings Children and Books Together!
• Palestinian IBBY

The 32nd International IBBY Congress was held in Santiago de Compostela, Spain this past September with the theme The Strength of Minorities:

Why would the majorities want to change a society in which they are perfectly comfortable and privileged? It may seem at a first glance that the majority is the dominant force in every society, but those who dramatically change their world, now and throughout history, always belong to the minority. Minorities –social, ethnic, linguistic, gender, religious- possess a force and an internal dynamism that this Congress will address by critically evaluating and highlighting today’s situation for all minorities. We hope that the Congress will encourage equity that will lead to empowerment of minorities throughout the world.

You can now read the detailed program and speeches from the Congress online by clicking  here. Photos from the event can be seen here.

Planning for the 33rd International IBBY Congress in London is already underway. The dates are set for August 23 – 26, 2012 and the theme of the Congress is Crossing Boundaries: Translations and Migrations. Participants will explore how books and stories for children and young people can cross boundaries and migrate across different countries and cultures. The congress will look at issues such as globalization, dual-language texts, cultural exchange and the art of translation. For more information, check out the IBBY 2012 Congress website.

Gita Wolf, publisher and director at Tara Books,  has posted a wonderful entry on the Tara Books Blog entitled The Politics of Voice: Folk and Tribal Art in Children’s Literature in which she talks about her presentation at the recent IBBY Congress:

“It may seem, at first glance, that the majority is the dominant force in every society, but those who dramatically change their world, now and throughout history, always belong to the minority.”  With this motto, the International Board on Books for Young People – IBBY – organized their Congress this year in Santiago de Compostela, Spain. The theme was The Strength of Minorities. Given Tara’s work with folk and tribal art communities, I was invited to contribute, to talk about how these ‘outsider’ artists could change the course of children’s literature.

The fundamental question for me had to do with how we can re-imagine children’s literature. What possibilities are there in a publishing world that is increasingly dominated by big business, bestsellers, and a certain sameness in what we think is suitable for children?

When we started publishing in 1995, there were very few picture books for children in India. Ours has been a largely oral tradition, and the notion of children’s literature came from abroad. So Indian children’s books tended to be derivative. To create something that was original, we looked around for Indian illustrators, and what excited us most was the potential we saw in traditional artists.

To read the rest of the article (which contains some lovely illustrations and images!) click here .

Note: The image above is by Gond artist Bhajju Shyam and is from the book The Flight of the Mermaid, text by Gita Wolf and Sirish Rao (Tara Books, 2009).  Bhajju is currently featured in our PaperTigers Illustrator Gallery.

Doris Gebel, USBBY Board Member, has asked us to pass along the following information for the 8th IBBY Regional Conference to be held Oct 2 – 4 in St. Charles, Illinois. The conference is open to anyone interested in international children’s books, including educators, librarians, authors, and students. You do not have to be a member of USBBY to attend or reside in the USA. Everyone is welcome! Registrations will be accepted until all spots are taken.

This year’s conference Children’s Books: Where Worlds Meet will offer attendees a rare opportunity to interact with an unparalleled line-up of international authors and illustrators, and to explore global connections through children’s literature.

International speakers include Shaun Tan from Australia; Yohannes Gebregeorgis, founder of Ethiopia Reads; Arvind Kumar, book distributor extraordinaire from India; Ana Maria Machado, Hans Christian Andersen Award-winning author from Brazil; and others, from a total of fourteen countries on five continents. Carmen Diana Dearden from Venezuela, editor and publisher of Ediciones Ekaré, will deliver the prestigious Dorothy Briley Lecture.

Speakers from the United States include Katherine Paterson, David Wiesner, Anne Pellowski, and publisher/editor Arthur Levine. Naomi Shihab Nye will deliver the closing keynote address.

Stimulating and thought-provoking book discussions and small group sessions will provide opportunities to network with concerned professionals and to think about issues related to the use of international literature to build intercultural understanding. Fascinating traveling exhibits include the International Youth Library’s “Imaginary Library” of original artwork by celebrated illustrators from around the world, the 2008 IBBY Honour Books, and the 2008 IBBY Outstanding Books for People with Disabilities. These exhibitions will be explained through “gallery talks” by such guests as IYL Director Christiane Raabe, IBBY Executive Secretary Liz Page, and others.

The 8th IBBY Regional Conference is an opportunity to show commitment to promoting international understanding through children’s books, and to join an international community devoted to providing children around the world with equal access to quality literature. This event promises to be outstanding, and is not to be missed.

(Click on event name for more information)

Library Card Sign-up Month~ USA

National Poetry Week~ ongoing until Sep 7, Australia

Singapore International Storytelling Festival~ ongoing until Sep 9, Singapore

Children Should Be Seen: The Image of the Child in American Picture-Book Art~ ongoing until Sep 14, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Beijing International Book Fair~ Sep 1 – 4, Tinjian, China

National Literacy and Numeracy Week~ Sep 1 – 7, Australia

New Zealand Book Month~ Sep 1 – 30, New Zealand

Christchurch Writers Festival: Getting Between the Covers~ Sep 4 – 7, Christchurch, New Zealand

Shanghai Conference On Children’s Publishing~ Sep 5 – 6, Shanghai, China

Cape Clear Island Storytellling Festival~ Sep 5 – 7, Cape Clear, Ireland

31st IBBY World Congress~ Sep 7 – 10, Copenhagen, Denmark

Hans Christian Anderson Awards Presentation~ Sep 7, Copenhagen, Denmark

International Literacy Day~ Sep 8

UNESCO Literary Prize Awards Presentation~ Sep 8, Paris, France

29th Manila International Book Fair: Words Without Borders~ Sep 12 – 16, Manila, Philippines

Bath Festival of Children’s Literature~ Sep 19 – 28, Bath, United Kingdom

Brisbane Writers Festival~ Sep 17 – 21, Brisbane, Australia

CYA later, Alligator – Children’s and Young Adult Writers And Illustrators Conference~ Sep 20, Brisbane, Australia

6th Annual Houston Latino Book and Family Festival~ Sep 20 – 21, Houston, TX, USA

International Day of Peace~ Sep 21

9th Annual Hog Wild About Reading: A Motorcycle Ride For Literacy~ Sep 21, Port Moody, BC, Canada

Raise-a-Reader Day~ Sep 24, Canada

International Children’s and Youth Literature Festival~ Sep 24 – Oct 4, Berlin, Germany

National Book Festival~ Sep 27, Washington, D.C., USA

Kidlit Bloggers Conference~ Sep 27, Portland, OR, USA

SCBWI Illustrator Day~ Sep 27, San Francisco, CA, USA

Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read~ Sep 27 – Oct 4, USA

Word on the Street Book and Magazine Festival ~ Sep 28, Vancouver, BC, Canada

Entry Deadline for the Noma Concours for Picture Book Illustrations~ Sep 30