Africa-Press – Botswana. Libraries and other information and communication technology platforms are beneficial for enhancing knowledge and acquisition of information.
As such, using those platforms to hurl insults at one another and engage in other intrusive behaviour will not be beneficial, says the Minister of Youth, Gender, Sport and Culture Mr Tumiso Rakgare.
Officiating at the World Book and Copy Right Day in Thamaga on Tuesday, Mr Rakgare sternly cautioned youth to avoiding being caught between a rock and hard place due to the utterances they make on social media platforms.
He said through ICT, information, sharing had been made easy and should be used to enlighten people and shape their future.
Shedding light on the event, he said April 23 had been set aside to celebrate the World Book and Copyright Day as a way of encouraging people to create a relationship with books, reading, understanding copyright laws, and measures to protect intellectual copyright.
Minister Rakgare explained that the theme: Promoting indigenous languages through reading and learning was in line with the country’s aspiration of striving to introduce local languages at primary schools.
He applauded the education ministry for spearheading the use of local languages, adding that 13 local languages would be introduced in the first phase at pre-primary and lower standards across different districts.
Mr Rakgare further said the development goes in line with President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s Reset Agenda, which aims to grow Botswana’s economy from mineral based to a knowledge based economy.
The minister said his ministry in collaboration with National Arts Council of Botswana and through the Literary Works Grant programme had assisted 21 applicants to a tune of P1 million in the 2022/23 financial year and a further eight applicants were helped to publish books to a tune of over P426 000 in 2023/24 financial year.
He added that his ministry has set aside P30 million budget to refurbish 10 libraries and maintain 14 reading rooms across the country.
Minister Rakgare said besides encouraging people to read, which comes with a lot of advantages among them relaxation, acquisition of knowledge, smart thinking and peace of mind, readers should protect the rights of writers.
He said it was important for readers to know that authors, publishers and artists should be given their royalties and guarding against taking advantage of their works.
The Secretary of the Botswana Library Consortium, Mr Khutsafalo Kadimon said he was happy that writers and artists’ works were now protected through the establishment Companies and Intellectual Property Agency (CIPA) and Copyrights Society of Botswana (COSBOTS.
Mr Kadimo lobbied for a conducive copyright environment and copyright laws that balanced between protecting intellectual property and enabling access to information and knowledge.
He said librarians should maintain a positive relationship with copyright holders, such as publishers, authors, and producers and engage in dialogue and negotiations to facilitate access to copyrighted materials while respecting intellectual property rights.
Visually impaired, Mr Thabo Mosiakgabo said the use of braille had made all things possible for him as he had managed to acquire knowledge and get education.
Giving a vote of thanks, the Member of Parliament for Thamaga/Kumakwane Mr Palelo Motaosane said reading and writing in indigenous language would help preserve culture and local languages.
Mr Motaosane advocated for the use of Setswana in the education, teaching and learning to be mandatory.
He further appealed to members of the public to desist from buying pirated works especially music, adding that buying authentic products would empower artistes and boost the local music industry.
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