BIENNIAL REPORT 2006 – 2008
IBBY ARGENTINA
INFORMATION REQUESTED FOR THE BIENNIAL REPORTS
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
1.1 Country: República Argentina
1.2Name, address, telephone, fax, e-mail and website of the National Section (NS):
ALIJA (Asociación de Literatura Infantil y Juvenil de Argentina)
México 1320 - 2ºA. Buenos Aires. Argentina
Telephone: (05411) 4381 6752
Fax: (05411) 4856 3343 (Laura Canteros)
e-mail: ;
1.3Representatives
1.3.1President of the National Section (NS)
Susana Itzcovich
e-mail:
1.3.2Secretary or main executive officer of the NS
Cristina Thomson
1.3.3IBBY main Liaison Officer or contact person
Susana Itzcovich
e-mail:
1.4Organization
Structure
1.4.1How is your NS organized? Describe the structure of the NS in general
Our NS is a registered non-profit organization. The sixteen members of the Executive Board are elected at a General Assembly for a period of two years and can be re-elected for a second period.
1.4.2Is your NS affiliated to, or a branch of another organization or institution? If so, which one?
AlijA is not affiliated to any other organization.
1.4.3Do you have an office and paid staff?
We have an office at the main City Library building to deal with administrative matters and solve members’ queries. All work is done by volunteers and we’ve never had any paid staff.
1.4.4How often do you have business meetings?
The Executive Board meets once a month and as often as necessary to address pressing issues.
Membership
1.4.5Does your NS have organizations as members? How many? What kind of organizations?
Our NS does not have organizations as members.
1.4.6Does your NS have individual members? How many? How do they contribute to the NS activities?
Our NS has 300 individual members who pay an annual fee and help organize meetings, seminars and other activities.
1.4.7Who are your members? What percentage are: teachers? authors? illustrators? publishers? students? Etc
Our members are 40% authors, 20% illustrators, 30% teachers, librarians and storytellers, and 10% staff members from publishing houses.
1.4.8What categories of membership, if any, does your NS have?
There are no categories of membership.
1.4.9How often do you keep in touch with your members? How?
Our NS keeps in touch with members by e-mail and by posting news on our blogspot
Meetings, workshops and seminaries are organized for members and the general public.
- FUNDING
2.1Annual Budget
2.1.1What is your average annual budget in US$? Is it increasing or decreasing?
In 2006-2008, we’ve been working on an average annual budget of US$13,000. It is estimated that increasing the annual budget to US$20,000 will help us cover up expenses: IBBY dues, publications, activities and paid staff.
2.2Sources of income
2.2.1Is there a membership fee? How much is it? What percentage of your budget does this account for?
Members pay a US$20 annual fee. This accounts for 45% of our budget.
2.2.2Do you receive financial support from individual sponsors and/or donors? If so, how much? What percentage of your budget does this account for?
No
2.2.3Do you receive grants from your government? If so, how much? What percentage of your budget does this account for?
No
2.2.4Do you receive grants from national institutions or other organizations? If so, how much? What percentage of your budget does this account for?
More than grants, we get financial support in exchange for services such as conducting reading promotion activities for children and/or teachers and librarians organized by publishing houses, Funds or companies. This is about US$1,200 a year and accounts for 10% of our budget.
2.2.5Have other NS contributed any financial support? If so, how much?
No
2.2.6Do you generate income through publications? If so, how much? What percentage of your budget does this account for?
Most of our publications are distributed free of charge, so we cannot consider them as a source of income.
2.2.7Do you have other sources of income not mentioned above? What are they and what percentage of your budget do they account for?
There are no other sources of income.
2.2.8Are the sources of income listed in points 2.2.1 to 2.2.7 regular contributions?
No
2.2.9Do you receive support specifically for your IBBY dues? If so, from whom?
Occasionally we ask publishing houses for a special contribution to pay our IBBY dues.
2.2.10Describe successful fundraising strategies your NS has developed.
Annual training courses in reading promotion strategies are an important source of income for our NS. We also get a percentage of the sales of books especially selected from the domestic publishing production that are sold at our booth in the Buenos Aires Book Fairs (April-May and July).
3. THE NATIONAL SECTION´S ACTIVITIES
3.1Main activities
3.1.1Has your NS organized national, regional or international meetings and conferences? Which ones?
No
3.1.2Have members of your NS represented IBBY at other national, regional or international meetings and/or conferences?
In 2007, our NS represented IBBY at the Havana Book Fair (Cuba) and at the Regional Forum in Literature organized by the Mempo Giardinelli Fund in the city of Resistencia (Northern Argentina). Some of our members attended the Bologna Book Fair in April, 2008.
3.1.3Does your NS organize courses or seminars at a local level? Who are these aimed at?
Our NS organizes courses and workshops at the local level on literature for children and young people and on reading promotion strategies aimed at teachers, student-teachers, librarians and parents.
3.1.4Does your NS organize or host exhibition and/or fairs?
ALIJA does not organize book fairs. For the last 19 years has had a booth at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair and the Children’s Book Fair organized by El Libro Fund. The books selected as Outstanding Books of the Year are exhibited there and information about IBBY, the ICBD and children’s literature is provided to the public.
3.1.5Does your NS administer awards or prizes? Does it organize contests?
Every year at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair, our NS presents the AlijA Outstanding Books of the Year Award diplomas, a unique prize in our country to distinguish the domestic publishing industry for children and young people. The books are selected by a jury of experts in the field.
No contests were organized during this period.
3.1.6Does your NS run a library or bookstore?
Our library is under construction. We don’t run a bookstore.
3.1.7Has your NS organized other activities? Which ones have been especially successful in your country? Please specify
Our NS organizes reading promotion activities through creative writing and illustration workshops for primary school children in the inner city within the framework of the Libros del Cordel [Hanging-Rope Books] joint programme with Compinches [Buddies] children’s magazine and sponsored by the Shell Oil Company. The programme aims at fostering reading habits by giving all children free copies of the books presented at the workshops.
3.2Communication
3.2.1Does your NS have a website? What is its URL?
No
3.2.2Does your NS publish a regular newsletter? Who receives this? Is it available online?
No
3.2.3Does your NS develop lists of book selections? Which ones?
No
3.2.4What, if any, are your other regular publications? Please give names (original and translation into English) and a description of their content and purpose.
There are no regular publications, but at present we are working on two catalogues including book selections, reviews and critical essays on two areas: peace and war in children’s literature (Guerra y paz en los libros para niños y jóvenes) and book and reading promotion (Mediadores de lectura). They are developed as a tool for parents, teachers, librarians and others in book selection, and will be released by the end of 2008.
3.2.5Does your NS work with national media to promote your own activities or the work of IBBY?
Our NS keeps close contact with the media –printed publications, radio and TV– and provides them with book reviews, interviews and information about IBBY activities both at the local and international level.
3.3Cooperation at a national level
3.3.1Is your NS consulted about children’s books in your country? By whom?
Our NS is frequently consulted on children’s books and reading promotion strategies by individuals, government bodies and NGOs nationwide. We collaborate with the National Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Culture at the Buenos Aires City Government by conducting training courses for staff members and in the selection of books to be purchased for school libraries. We also help the El Libro Fund in the planning and organization of the annual seminar sessions for teachers, librarians and professionals held at the Buenos Aires International Book Fair (April-May) and the Buenos Aires Children’s Book Fair (July).
3.3.2Are there NGOs or established institutions in your country for which the development of a children’s reading and publishing culture is an objective? Which ones? Are you informed of their projects and needs?
Our NS shares the objective of developing a children’s reading and publishing culture with various organizations at the local, provincial or national level in Argentina. Some of them are La Nube NGO (a bookstore and documentation centre); CEDILIJ (a documentation centre in the city of Córdoba); the Centre for the Promotion of Children’s Literature at the University of Comahue (Southern Patagonia); the Department of Literature at the University of Litoral (in Santa Fe); OMEP (preschool teaching world organization), ABGRA (IFLA national branch); and ASSITEJ (association for children’s drama).
3.3.3Does your NS collaborate with these agencies?
Our NS collaborates with the above mentioned agencies and joins in their activities and/or provides support on literary resources and book promotion for children and young people.
4. COOPERATION WITH IBBY
4.1. International activities in cooperation with IBBY
We feel proud that Professor Alicia Salvi has represented our NS as a member of the Jury for the 2008 Hans Christian Andersen Awards.
Congresses and General Assemblies
4.1.1How many of your members participated in the last two IBBY Congresses and General Assemblies?
Three of our members attended the 29th Congress and two participated in the 30th Congress.
4.1.2Does your NS participate in IBBY regional conferences? If so, which ones?
None
International Children´s Book Day
4.1.3. What activities, if any, does your NS organize to celebrate the ICBD?
During this period, our NS has organized several activities. Both in 2006 and in 2007, AlijA and the La Nube NGO held a panel session on Reading Promotion and Books for Children together with a poster exhibition including all those we have received from the ICBD sponsoring NSs over the years.
In 2008, two activities were organized in collaboration with the Buenos Aires City Government Book and Reading Promotion Board. At a library situated in one of the city parks there were storytelling and reading sessions, art workshops and a music concert for children and adults. At one of the City Libraries Reading House a two-week reading and writing workshop for children (Children Rewrite Classics). The ICBD message and poster were presented there.
4.1.4Did you design your own poster? If not, did you use the message and poster of the sponsoring NS?
Every year, we use the posters sent by the sponsoring NS. The messages are translated into Spanish by our Bookbird associate editor and printed in card form to be distributed among the people attending the Buenos Aires International Book Fair, which is held in April-May.
4.1.5How do you disseminate information about the ICBD?
The information is posted on our blogspot, at the Imaginaria website and sent to various printed media as well as radio and TV shows. Our members receive it by e-mail.
IBBY Awards and projects
4.1.6Did your NS present any nominations for the Hans Christian Andersen Awards? If so, who were the nominees? If not, why not?
The nominations for the Hans Christian Andersen Award were:
2006 - Ema Wolf (author) and Isol (illustrator)
2008 - Beatriz Ferro (author) and Isol (illustrator)
4.1.7Did your NS present any nominations for the IBBY Honour List? If so, who were the nominees? If not, why not?
The nominations for the Hans Christian Andersen Award were:
2006
–Writing: Valentino, Esteban. Perros de nadie [No one’s Dogs] (Spanish). Ill: Pez. Buenos Aires: Astralib Cooperativa Editora, 2005
–Illustration: Trillo, Matías. El usurpador de la luna llena [The Full Moon Usurper] (Spanish). Text: Beatriz Ferro. Buenos Aires: Grupo Editorial Norma, 2004
–Translation: Piña, Cristina. El fantasma de Canterville. (Orig. English: The Canterville Ghost by Oscar Wilde). Buenos Aires: La Red del Libro S.A., 2004.
2008
-Writing: Andruetto, María Teresa. El árbol de lilas [The lilac tree] (Spanish). Córdoba: Editorial Comunicarte, 2005.
-Illustration: Scafati, Luis. Pequeño Quijote Ilustrado [The Little Illustrated Quixote] (Spanish). Text by the artist. Buenos Aires: Ediciones de la Flor, 2006.
-Translation: Canteros, Laura. Contratiempos (Orig. English: Breaktime by Aidan Chambers). Illustrations by the author. Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 2005.
4.1.8Did your NS nominate a project for the IBBY-Asahi Reading Promotion Award? If so, which one?
No
4.1.9Did you nominate any titles for the Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities selection?
No
4.1.10Did you donate or recommend any books for the IBBY Documentation Centre of Books for Disabled Young People? If so, how many?
Not during this period.
4.1.11Did you host any IBBY travelling exhibitions (Honour List, HCA, Books for Disabled, etc.)? If so, where and when were they exhibited?
Not during this period.
Bookbird and other projects
4.1.12How many members of your NS have individual subscriptions to Bookbird?
None
4.1.13Does your NS have a Bookbird associate editor? Have you contributed any articles to, or cooperated with Bookbird?
Laura Canteros, our associate editor, is responsible for circulating information on the contents of every Bookbird issue among members and interested people and cooperates with the Bookbird section on the IBBY website by submitting translations into Spanish. A special invitation has been issued for publishers to contribute to the Postcards from around the Word and Books on Books sections.
4.1.14Have you participated in any other IBBY international activities not listed above? If so, which ones?
Some of our members usually attend international activities such as the ones held at the Bologna Book Fair and the biennial congress organized by IBBY Cuba.
4.2Cooperation with other National Sections
4.2.1Are you involved in regional cooperation with other NS? What is the nature of this cooperation?
Our NS has been part of the Jury for the Norma-Fundalectura Award and supported the nomination of Banco del Libro for the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award.
4.2.2Do you cooperate bilaterally with other NS? What is the nature of this cooperation?
No
4.2.3Do you exchange newsletters or information with other NS? If so, how often?
During this period, we exchanged information with IBBY Chile on humour authors in children’s literature and received a publication they have developed on the subject.
4.2.4What, in your opinion, have been the major obstacles to greater cooperation between NS?
Long distances and the NS’s limited budget. However, for the international book fairs held in Buenos Aires, AlijA managed to obtain support from the organizing body to invite guest experts Teresa Colomer (Spain), Fanuel Hanán Díaz (Venezuela), Beatriz Elena Robledo (Colombia), Beatriz Medina (Venezuela), Silvia Castrillón (Colombia) and Gonzalo Oyardún (Chile), among others.
- ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Our most pressing concern is finding sponsors for a wider range of activities that this NS has planned for the near future.
1
IBBY ARGENTINA – BIENNIAL REPORT 2006 - 2008