By Walter Wilson Nana
The National Book Development Council, NBDC, has invited young Cameroonians to be part of the country’s democratic processes and good governance.
According to a project dubbed “Call for Essays,” crafted by the NBDC Chairperson, George Ngwane, young Cameroonians of less than thirty, resident in the country, with unpublished works are expected to forward them to the Buea headquarter of the NBDC or through the email bookcouncil2000@yahoo.com on or before July 31, 2012. “The essays will culminate in a book. We want to ignite a dialogue, reflect together and generate ideas on the state and future of Cameroon in the form of a book. It is an advocacy and educational tool towards effective participatory and collective governance,” said Ngwane.
George Ngwane, Chair of NBDC, Buea, Cameroon
The NBDC Chair said the gist of the project is to promote values and ideals that would give the country a quantum leap in all walks of life but with a discourse that takes into account the articulations of young voices. “It is our firm conviction that we need to get young people to engage in debates that shall address among many things, the emerging dominant party syndrome, the voter apathy among youths, the lack of development opportunities, our educational system, the state of our bicultural apparatus, new insights into economic growths and the future of touristic and cultural industries in Cameroon,” he added.
Ngwane mentioned that the NBDC is soliciting essays in the areas of politics, economics, culture and tourism, but the anticipated result is not to predict the future but to inspire and challenge a new generation of Cameroonians to make a comparative analysis of the country’s past, present and shed light on the collective future. “Another anticipated result is to generate debate in Cameroon about the role of the younger generations in charting a new trajectory as well as alert the present leaders to the wishes and aspirations, hopes and fears of a younger generation of Cameroonians,” he noted.
The Essays are expected to be written in English and should not be more than 4000 words. In a May 22, 2012 press release, the NBDC Chair invited participants to mark on their Essay a short biography (a paragraph) including their Name and Date of Birth. “The Essays are neither academic nor research papers and shall not be judged as such. What is important is that the essays should present the personal visions of the authors. Only 15 Essays shall be selected by a group of experts. The National Book Development Council shall be involved in selecting the essays but a local Publisher is being contacted for collating the essays into a book,” concluded the release.
