Due to the on-going nationwide strike by public school teachers in Kenya, the Directorate of Lola Kenya Screen is forced to postpone the eighth edition of the annual Lola Kenya Screen audiovisual media festival, skill-development programme and marketing platform for children and youth in eastern Africa that was scheduled for August 12-17, 2013.
“Lola Kenya Screen caters to school-going children and youth, the bulk of who are drawn from public schools whose holidays are usually in April, August and December. Without a clear school calendar, it is difficult for us to plan and implement our programmes to our target audience,” a statement from Lola Kenya Screen signed by Managing Trustee/Creative Director Ogova Ondego and issued in Nairobi on July 7, 2013, says in part.
The teachers’ strike, occasioned by a 16-year dispute over salaries of members of the Kenya National Union of Teachers, has disrupted learning in Kenya. It is also likely to interfere with the school calendar and thus with the smooth running of any initiative—like Lola Kenya Screen—that is tied to the public school calendar.
The new festival date, to be announced after the strike, is likely to be at the end of November or early December 2013. We regret for the inconvenience this postponement has caused to our filmmakers, mentors, partners, guests and festival-goers who had planned to be in Nairobi in August 2013.
