Catete — The Dr. António Agostinho Neto Cultural Center, in the municipality of Catete, Icolo e Bengo Province, is committed to encouraging children to develop the habit of reading children's stories manuals, announced the director of this institution, Isaías Cristóvão, on Tuesday.

The official made this statement during the opening of a "Children's Book Fair," which began on Tuesday and ends Wednesday (17) in Catete.

On the occasion, the director lamented the fact that students currently limit themselves only to academic textbooks, urging them to include other extracurricular books in order to broaden their range of knowledge.

According to the official, the event is part of a children's and youth program called "Amanhecer" (Dawn), a phrase taken from one of António Agostinho Neto's poems.

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She highlighted that the air aims to awaken children's love for reading and expects a considerable number of visitors, including children, parents, and others.

When discussing the theme "Angolan Children's Literature Post-Independence", the writer Canguimbo Ananás provided context for some titles by writers such as António Agostinho Neto, Maria Eugénia Neto, Uanhega Xitu, Jofre Rocha, Luandino Vieira, Pepetela, Arnaldo dos Santos, among others.

She indicated these figures as symbols that contributed to the enrichment of oral children's literature, a process that consisted of narrating myths, proverbs, songs, as well as legends transmitted from generation to generation through speech and writing. NGS/AJQ/TED/jmc