Since the beginning of Phase II, launched in October 1996, the programme has matured in a number of ways, both stimulating and reacting to the progress of book sector development in the participating countries.

The activities to date, listed in the chronological review, have taken the following form:

Organization of National Book Sector Consultations

These consultations, which took place from May 1997 to January 2000, have focused not on the design of new ‘projects’, but on the economic and institutional environment within which books are produced and distributed. They were successful for:

• bringing together representatives of all links in the book chain including publishers, writers printers, booksellers and distributors, librarians, teacher trainers, funding agencies and representatives of Ministries of Education and/or Culture and Trade;
• providing a forum for the discussion of issues of common concern, such as the affordability of textbooks and learning materials and cost recovery, regulatory and policy framework, human resource development, and how to promote a balanced development of public and private sectors involved in educational materials development and publishing;
• introducing the book sector approach as a conceptual and operational framework for a strategy to achieve national book development;
• offering an opportunity for delegates to discuss the relevance and feasibility of adopting national book policies at the country level.

To consult the Handbook for the Organization and Conduct of National Book Sector Consultations click here

The programme has created its own momentum in several countries. A second round of national book sector consultations has now started to review progress made since the first book sector consultation held in the respective countries.

Support to the consolidation of National Book Development Councils

Whether it be a Book Council or another body, the BLM Initiative supports the creation of national co-ordination mechanisms as bodies to advocate book sector interests where such structures do not exist or do not operate efficiently. One of the outcomes of the above encounters has in fact been the establishment or reactivation of book development councils or equivalent bodies in most of the participating countries.

The initial stages of the Councils differ from country to country. In some countries, the Councils have decided to focus on skills training development, in others on policy drafting or helping stakeholders to define their respective roles and responsibilities. Raising awareness of the importance of clear communication and interaction between the players of the book chain is an instrumental step in new environments where (6) book provision mechanisms is moving from closed to more open systems.

As part of the support to councils in their initial stage, the BLM Initiative has organized study-tours for teams of public and private sector publishing stakeholders so as to allow members of the interim book development committees to study the publishing sector in neighbouring countries as a way of gaining experience to develop the private and public book sector in the country.

The process of establishing book development councils is long and challenging. Particular important for its future impact on national book development is to ensure that the councils are actively representative of both public and private sectors and of all components of the book sector, preferably through their respective professional associations. As part of its efforts to ensure sustainability, the BLM Initiative is assisting the Councils in raising the visibility of the book cause and the publishing sector, both vis-à-vis government and the general public.

Technical assistance and capacity-building

As a technical assistance and training programme, the BLM Initiative provides consultancy services to the participating countries in the following contexts:

• assist in the development of national strategies for the provision of educational materials and the drafting of national book policies and supporting legislation. In many countries, policy exists only to the extent of defining and describing responsibilities as they relate to textbook provision. The BLM Initiative supports the countries in broadening the scope of the policy to embrace the book sector as a whole;
• assist in the undertakings of feasibility studies, book sector surveys or equivalent studies. The collection and analysis of book sector data is an indispensable tool for the development, planning and the implementation of adequate strategies to bring about change and to optimize both financial and human resources;
• facilitate training of book sector personnel through workshops on general or specific issues affecting different links in the book chain. Training for both public and private sector stakeholders remains a prominent issue throughout Africa. Most training courses organized by professional organizations of publishers tend to be "in-house", while for instance training for curriculum development panels and evaluators have little reference to the industrial aspects of publishing. The programme has broadened the scope of training opportunities by lending the services of publishing and pedagogic experts to the national bodies responsible for book development;

As part of capacity-building strategies and building up resources within the countries, the BLM Initiative is providing a wide range of training and resource materials on different aspects of book development.

These have been purchased from the Book House Training Centre in London, the African Books Collective (ABC) , the International Institute of Educational Planning (IIEP) and the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA) and are disseminated through the Ministries of Education, National Book Development Councils, UNESCO Offices and National Commissions in the participating countries. The BLM manual "From Plan to Print : A guide to sustainable book provision" is distributed beyond the participating countries and has been translated into French, Portuguese and Mongolian.

Information sharing

Efforts are being made to extend the potential outreach of programme activities and to stay abreast with book development tendencies through collaboration with international associations, institutions and agencies similarly involved in book assistance activities. Collaboration partners have included African Publishers’ Network (APNET), Pan-African Booksellers’ Association (PABA), Zimbabwe International Book Fair (ZIBF), the SOROS Foundation, the British Council, CODE Europe, SIDA and the UN International Trade Centre (UNCTAD), Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE).

A significant partner is the ADEA Working Group on Books and Learning Materials with whom the BLM Initiative has a complementary partnership. The two programmes joined efforts to carry out the Thematic Study on the availability of Basic Learning Materials as part of the Education for All 2000 Assessment exercise. The UNESCO/ADEA Round Table Meeting on Book Policy Co-ordination at ZIBF’99 resulted in a Booklet on National Co-ordination Mechanisms.