For generations, knowledge has been passed down through talanoa, songs, and legends and now the iTaukei Trust Fund Board (TTFB) is turning that oral tradition into books for children.
The board opened its inaugural Talanoa BookLab yesterday at the Centre for Appropriate Technology and Development in Nadave, where 12 to 15 authors will work with Ministry of Education’s curriculum advisers and illustrators from August 31 to September 2.
The curriculum is aimed at students of Years 7 and 8.
The board’s senior program specialist, Unaisi Manulevu, said the project was about more than literacy.
“We are not only trying to preserve the language. We want the stories our children read to be culturally rooted and grounded and to help them understand who they are,” she said.
“We must go back to teaching our children not only to speak vosa vakaviti, but also to read it, write it and understand it.”
The initiative forms part of the board’s ongoing work to preserve and promote the iTaukei language and culture, and to ensure vosa vakaviti continues to be spoken, read, written and understood by future generations.
The stories will focus on themes such as climate change, nature, bula vaka vanua and vai tovo vaka vanua, helping young readers connect with their culture and environment.
Among those involved is illustrator Anare Somumu, who will guide the visual development of the stories on the final day.
After the workshop, the stories will go through the board’s publishing process before being printed as supplementary reading material.
