Monday April 23 was World Book Day and across the globe the event is being celebrated. This week TNPS will be taking some snapshot views of how different countries are marking the occasion. Today we take at look at events in Nigeria and India.
Airtel Nigeria is this week donating 5000 books and hosting book-reading sessions across Nigeria to mark World Book Day.
According to Nigeria’s Independent, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya, kicked off the initiative on Monday:
Airtel’s Director of Corporate Communications & CSR, Emeka Oparah, said the company is committed to supporting underprivileged children and creating platforms that will inspire young Nigerians to succeed.
“We believe in investing in young Nigerians as they are our future leaders. The World Book Day provides a fine opportunity for us to support underprivileged children and inspire them to read and do so much more. We are confident that with the right support young Nigerians will do well.”
Airtel currently operates across nine Anglophone and six francophone countries in Africa:
English: Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.
French: Chad, Congo Brazzaville, DR Congo, Gabon, Madagascar, Niger.
It’s not clear yet what, if anything, Airtel is doing for World Book Day in the other African countries it serves, but Airtel is no stranger to books.
In December parent company Bharti Airtel, based in New Delhi, bought a significant stake in the Indian digital books operation Juggernaut.
Meanwhile in India itself, the popular chai-café chain partnered with HarperCollins India to
create a paradise for book and chai lovers in the country. Both companies kickstarted initiatives and activities to reward and encourage chai-sipping-page-turning bookworms.
According to the Times of India,
The association between Chaayos and HarperCollins commenced on World Book Day with a trivia-based contest on social media and will be followed by a series of sessions with renowned authors and editors at Chaayos Cafés in various cities.
The Times of India quotes Raghav Verma, co-founder Chaayos, as saying,
Books and chai are the perfect combination and there couldn’t have been a better partner for the association than HarperCollins. Chaayos understands its patron’s love for books and has also designed multiple cafés in Delhi and Mumbai based on the theme of tea, rain and good books. It’s our constant endeavor to create a deeper connect with our patrons by giving them more occasions to be at Chaayos. This partnership will create a one-stop destination for all chai and book lovers to come have their ‘Meri Wali Chai’.
