Macmillan holds youth literary day

The sixth edition of Macmillan's Youth Literary Day will hold on Tuesday, May 31 at the Shell Hall, Muson Centre, Lagos. The event is part of several initiatives led by the publishing company to keep hope alive in Nigerian youth and is themed ‘My Tomorrow, My Nigeria'.

"It is to ignite hope in the younger generation even in the face of seeming troubles," said Nigeria's first female permanent secretary and chair of Macmillan's literary committee, Francesca Emanuel, at a briefing held at the company's premises on Thursday, May 26.

The youth literary day holds after the eighth Macmillan Literary Night to celebrate Nigeria's golden anniversary, held last year. The celebration was themed ‘Penning Our March to the Golden Year: A Celebration of Nigerian Literature in the Last 50 Years'. Emanuel, a board member of the company, added that, "Over the years, Macmillan has been involved in several literary events including literary night for adults, Yoruba literary day and the youth literary day. This is a statement that we are highly passionate about introducing arts into our daily lives."

Educational and entertaining

Towards having a successful event, 10 schools were carefully selected on the basis of ownership, gender and religion to participate. The students in the selected schools have been tutored by art professionals for weeks to examine what the theme means to them as youth of today and leaders of tomorrow.

"The outcome of their deliberation will be expressed in either songs or dance or drama which will be performed on the Youth Literary Day. This event is different and unique, it promises to be an exciting event," said Emanuel.

She added that, "The performances will be competitive and it will be judged by a panel of seasoned performing art professionals and prizes and certificates will be given to the participants. The outcome of the school performances on Tuesday will form the basis of how the future youth events will be."

Though meant to educate and inspire youth, the programme will also entertain as the Junior Crown Troupe of Africa will be available to perform for the guests, including the 50 adults who invited as special guests. "The adults are usually included so that they can see and know what the youth are doing and how they can be encouraged," explained Emanuel.

The chief executive officer of Macmillan, I.A. Adeleekan, also reiterated the uniqueness of the event. He said, "Our corporate social responsibility initiatives are different from others; they are always educative and inspiring. This youth event is about introducing arts into education. This year, we have professionals working with the students to polish and hone their skills. This event is a manifestation of the commitment of Macmillan to its target market-youth."