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‘Why NB is committed to developing literary writing skills’

By Gbenga Salau
06 July 2016   |   2:25 am
The Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, Nicolaas Vervelde has said that his company is committed to the development of literary writing skills in Nigeria, saying it is part ...
Consulate General, The United States of America, John Bray; former governor of Anambra State Peter Obi; Renowned writer, Chimamanda Adichie and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Breweries Plc Nicolaas Vervelde during the NB 2016 creative writers literary evening in Lagos PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

Consulate General, The United States of America, John Bray; former governor of Anambra State Peter Obi; Renowned writer, Chimamanda Adichie and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Breweries Plc Nicolaas Vervelde during the NB 2016 creative writers literary evening in Lagos<br />PHOTO: FEMI ADEBESIN-KUTI

The Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries, Nicolaas Vervelde has said that his company is committed to the development of literary writing skills in Nigeria, saying it is part of its strategic corporate investment in talent development and youth empowerment in Nigeria.

Speaking at the 2016 literary night to bring to a close the yearly Creative Writing Workshop organised by Farafina Trust and sponsored by Nigerian Breweries, Vervelde noted that it is on record that the workshop has helped to fine-tune the skills of several writers as well as encourage both published and unpublished writers to fulfill their desire for self-expression.

Thanking Chimamanda and the Farafina Trust team, for their contributions to make many writers dreams come true, he said since its inception, the workshop has grown to be a major chapter in its Corporate Social Responsibility calendar.

“Driven by Chimamanda Adichie, Nigeria’s award winning writer, Nigerian Breweries and Farafina Trust have helped to discover and sharpen literary skills through this platform. As in previous years, our gratitude goes to the workshop facilitators for this year; Chimamanda, Eghosa Imasuen, Aslak Sira Myhre and not forgetting, Binyavanga Wainaina who has been a part of the creative writers workshop since inception in 2009,” the Nigerian Breweries boss stated.

The workshop has been held for eight consecutive years. And Vervelde hopes that the mutual objective for which the workshop was set up would be realized, especially as the creative writers’ workshop continues to attract huge interest within and outside Nigeria. “It is our collective hope that the knowledge shared at this year’s workshop, like in previous years, would help nurture in all participants the potential to become future Nobel Laureates in literature.”

For the workshop participants, aside congratulating them, Vervelde urged them to make a good use of the ideas and lessons learnt during the workshop to ensure the realization of their literary future.

The annual workshop which has been dubbed the Nigerian Breweries/Farafina Trust Creative Writing Workshop, started in 2009, and is organized by award winning writer and creative director of Farafina Trust, Chimamanda Adichie. The aim of the workshop according to the partners of the project is to improve the craft of writers and encourage published and unpublished writers by bringing different perspective to the art of storytelling. The Caine Prize winning Kenya writer Binyavanga Wainaina, Norwegian culture administrator and Director of the National Library of Norway, Aslak Sira Myhre as well as medical doctor and author, Eghosa Imasuen co-teach along-side Adichie. The workshop takes the form of a class.

Participants are assigned a wide range of reading exercises, as well as daily writing exercises. Participation is limited only to those who are accepted and contacted. The Workshop which opened on June 21 2016, closed on July 1 2016 with an evening of readings open to the general public. At the ceremony, certificates were presented to the participants, 23 of them.

The Corporate Communication Advisor of Nigerian Breweries, Kufre Ekanem, also thanked all those who made the project a success.

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