Atelewo, an Ibadan-based cultural group, has unveiled plans for the the next edition of its annual prize for yoruba literature.
The launch of the 3rd edition of the prize was revealed at a press conference to mark the fifth year anniversary of the organization.
In the first and second edition of the prize, the overall winners, Mustapha Sherif and Waliyullahi Tunde received a cash prize of N50,000 and N100,000 respectively.
However, a press statement jointly signed by the organization’s co-founders, Oredola Ibrahim and Razak Malik, indicated that the overall winner of the 3rd edition will win a cash prize of N250,000 whiile three other winners will go home with 100,000 Naira each
“Today, we are happy to announce the launch of the 3rd edition. And we’re calling on previously unpublished writers working in the Yorùbá language to put in their works. We’ll be accepting submissions from the 1st of June to the 30th of October.
“The judging process will commence on the 1st of November to the 30th of January while the award ceremony will happen in Ibadan on the 21st of February, 2023 in commemoration of International Mother Language Day.”
Speaking on the activities of the organization since inception five years ago, Ibrahim said they have organized multiple conferences and launched multiple projects in line with their aim to respond to the myriads of challenges and threats facing the preservation and survival of the Yorùbá culture and language.
“For five years, we have been at the forefront of promoting Yorùbá literary culture through a series of projects involving online publishing, research, competitions and Yorùbá books promotion,” he said.
“For five years, we have organised both free and paid Yorùbá literacy training events online and offline. For five years, we have worked with national and international organisations to translate and create messages promoting values in the health, education and agriculture sectors.”
Ibrahim noted that in the next five years, the organization intends to build a state of the art Cultural Innovation hub dedicated to advancing the course of African cultures while leveraging innovation and technology.
“As an organisation, we have always thrived on public support and we are only able to get here because of the support we’ve been receiving. We are hereby calling on the public for support and partnership so we can continue to do the works we are doing for the promotion of language and culture,”he added.
