All About Malawi Writers Union (MAWU)
I have written this article about MAWU, which stands for Malawi Writers Union. MAWU is a Malawian organization comprised of writers. Many individuals often inquire about the process of becoming a member of this Union and the benefits associated with joining. In this article, I will provide information about MAWU and extend a warm invitation to everyone interested in joining our Union. We also welcome sponsors who wish to support our endeavors. To register as a member or sponsor the Union, please contact the following phone numbers: +265 991332594 and +265 888708046.
Organizational Profile & Track Record
The Malawi Writers Union (MAWU) was formed in 1995 after
the fall of one-party rule. The core objective was to bring back writers who
fled into exile due to political ill-treatment and in the long run fight for the
release of those who were imprisoned in the country’s notorious prisons.
Besides that, the formation of such an organization was to bring back literary
works which were banned during the era. Having achieved those objectives, MAWU
exists to promote writers’ freedom of expression and preserve Malawian writing
identity. The governance structure of MAWU is composed of the General Assembly,
the Board of Trustees, the Executive and the Secretariat. With a membership of 920,
the Union has five distinct writers’ desks namely the Budding Writers’ Desk
with 300 members, Women’s Writers’ Desk with 250 female members, Religious Desk
has 70 members, the Non-Fiction 50, the Established, those who have published a
book or more with 130 members and the School Affiliates; Secondary schools and
Colleges/Universities targeting 100 schools.
MAWU has previously conducted writing clinics and
trainings for female writers, the budding and established writers and has run
several writers’ competition in order to uplift their writing standard. These
were done with funding from NORAD and the Norwegian Embassy. There were factors
that made MAWU run these interventions. The factors included limited capacity
and space that writers were constrained with. MAWU has managed to produce several
anthologies as result of these interventions and some of them are drafted in
secondary school curricula.
Mandate: The Malawi
Writers Union derive its mandate from its constitution which urges MAWU to
promote writing and reading culture.
Mission Statement: To promote
writing and reading culture among its members and the general public through
training, writing and publication of works in order to uplift the country’s
cultural educational standards.
Vision
Statement: To put in place a vibrant writing and reading culture.
CORE VALUES
The core values that will guide the conduct of MAWU’s
members are:
v
Creativity
MAWU will
endeavor to assist its members to create and produce original quality works in
varied styles, themes and topics.
v Transparency
and Accountability
MAWU will perform its duties in an open manner and its
members will collectively be accountable for their actions.
v
Networking
MAWU will work
in collaboration with various partners and other stakeholders for
effective production of its works,
locally and internationally.
v
Equity and
Equality
MAWU will
ensure equal promotion of writing opportunities without discrimination based on
sex, gender, race, religion, disability, social status, etc.
Background & Problem Analysis
Malawi’s literature is very rich, however bodies
especially Malawi Writers Union (MAWU) faces numerous challenges to advance
writing, one of key obstacles is the lack of funding and capacity to implement
national interventions that have a potential to transform writing. Essentially
MAWU has previously received support from First Merchant Bank (FMB) for its
short story award, and Royal Norwegian Embassy through the cultural support
scheme but not anymore.
There are few donors to the
cultural sector in Malawi. Lack of infrastructure to promote various arts is a
concern for most artists. For writers, there are no adequate research centres
in the country and writers find it particularly hard to find quite places to
brainstorm and find some inspirations without noise disturbances. At the time
of the review it was not clear whether the government intended to buy the
French Cultural Centre and if so for which purpose. Even if the government
purchases this centre, challenges remain with regards to management and running
costs. There is no permanent theatre stage in Malawi and neither are there any
non-commercial galleries or other suitable venues for exhibitions. There are
few festivals, with the exception of the Blantyre Arts Festival and Lake of
Stars Festival which are held annually. None of these festivals have reached a
stage to attract significant investments from the private sector.
Performing artists, in
particular women, face cultural prejudices and would usually have to struggle
hard and cross many barriers before gaining society’s acceptance of their role
as artists.
Strategic Approach for MAWU
-To use public engagement, awareness raising, community
engagement and also capacity strengthening so that Malawi’s writers are able to
raise their profile locally and internationally.
-To build engagement of the writers and provide them an
opportunity to publish their literary works both online and in paperback.
-To use media engagement to promote visibility of the
work of MAWU and also showcase the talent of the writers and connect them with
the general public.
Objectives for MAWU
-To publish
books written by malawian writers.
-To market
and sell books by Malawian writers.
-To enhance the engagement of writers and sharing of knowledge and building
a responsive writers platform for acceleration of the literature and arts
sector in Malawi.
-To increase the participation of the general public in the literary
arts sector by creating an enabling environment for writers and the public for
strategic engagement in the achievement of sustainable development goals in
Malawi.
-To submit books for new syllabus evaluations for Malawian writers.
Activities
-Knowledge sharing and learning
-Sponsor writers’ residency programmes
This is to enhance the expertise of Malawian writers of fiction to produce
more novels, novellas and short stories of high quality on various themes of
social economic development, history, speculative fiction and other literary
genres. The seeks support for its 6 writers’ residencies each year in Malawi
and abroad, in collaboration with other literary organizations. In each
residency, where a sponsor will pitch a proposal and a reasonable budget for
the residency for a specified period. The aim is to ensure writers have
expertise to gain knowledge and complete their works for publishing.
-Conduct writers mentorship workshops and orientation
MAWU seeks to build the capacity of Malawian writers in shaping literary
skills through a formal mentorship process, where a total of 80 writers across
Malawi shall be trained in 3 regional 3-day workshops and will be pitching
ideas for novels, short stories and novellas. The pitched ideas will be
developed by writers themselves and produce finished works for publishing. It
is expected that out of this process 6 novels, 10 short stories and 5 novellas
will be produced and published in each year and leading to 18 novels, 30 short
stories and 10 novellas by the end of the project.
-Holding National Literary Award (NALA)
MAWU seeks to hold Malawi National Prize for Fiction to replace Peer Gynt
Literary Award which was previously sponsored by The Nowergian Embassy. The
prize will award Writers for outstanding work in novels on all genres of
fiction. The award gala will be held every year in Blantyre and Lilongwe.
-Holding of Women Writers Literary Award(WWLA)
In order to enhance the gender mainstreaming and participation of women in
literary arts sector, MAWU also intends to launch Women Writers Literary Award
to be specific to only women writers in Malawi. The aim of the award is to
unearth talent from women writers of novels and adult fiction in all genres
including speculative fiction, and
others. At least 4 novels will be
produced in the award in a year, women writers will be mentored in the planned
workshops.
-Launch MAWU online literary magazine
It is planned that a bi-annual literary online magazine will be launched in
Malawi, where writers across Malawi will be accorded an opportunity to submit
and have their short stories and book reviews showcased. The magazine will be a
launch pad for writers to publish their works and get recognition locally and
internationally.
-Public engagement and outreach
-Hold writers and arts festival
MAWU seeks to enhance a platform for writers and the
public to mingle and network and have a place where the public knows its
writers to boost the reading culture and also accorde a golden chance for
writers to showcase and display their works. It is planned that annual writers festivals of over 500 people
will be conducted each year. During the festivals there will be book review
sessions, reading session to the public, book exhibitions, selling of books and
also discussions about writing and literary issues in Malawi. In addition 2000
posters, 500 leaflets and 5 stand up banners will be produced as part of IEC
materials.
Conduct media training workshops on literary sector enhancement
MAWU seeks to create a platform for capacity building of
Malawian journalists for radio, TV and newspapers and online platform to deepen
media engagement and media coverage on the literary sector. They will also
trained in Book reviewing. In the project, at least 30 journalists will be
trained in a national 2-day media workshop to be facilitated by local or
international literary experts and facilitators. The journalists are expected
to increase coverage on all the MAWU projects.
-Build a website for the Malawi Writers Union as a channel to connect with
the public
In order to build visibility and communication about
MAWU’s work, a website will be built which will showcase stories, publications,
programs and all the works of MAWU and also act as a platform for publishing
literary works selected across its programs. The website will also be a perfect
portal to share information on writers with the general public and the
international community.
-Secure land and construct MAWU office premises
MAWU is also expected to embark on ambitious plans on securing a piece of
land where its official premises for an office will be built. The office
complex will also have rooms for renting out to other organizations and
companies for financial sustainability.
MAWU CONDITIONS OF MEMBERSHIP
The
following conditions shall apply:
1. MAWU Financial year is Jan to Dec
2.
Every member shall pay Annual membership subscription fees based on categories
outlined
3.
Normal payment is from Jan – March which is the first quarter
4.
List of paid up members will be pasted at MAWU offices
5.
After first quarter membership fees will increase by a penalty of K5, 000.00
6.
New members to be recruited at any point will still pay normal subscription
fees based on categories outlined, no penalty fee.
7.
Only paid up members will be eligible to participate in MAWU activities
(Residencies, writing workshops, book editing at a fair price, International
workshops, etc).
8. Every paid up member is expected to follow up with
secretariat to get updates on upcoming events /activities.
BOARD
OF TRUSTEES
MAWU
has a Board of Trustees.
MEMBERSHIP CATEGORY
There are three categories of membership whose
annual membership fee vary as
1. Individual Membership: is open to any person
…………………….
2. Associate Membership: is open to all associations…………
3. Institutional Membership: is open to Schools,
Colleges, Universities………………………
FINANCIAL
YEAR
The calendar year for Malawi Writers Union starts in
January and ends in December. As such
financial year determines the next payment for all willing to retain their
membership. Membership is voluntary and
the following conditions apply:
1. Upon
payment of annual subscription fee one is considered a member for that
financial year and is eligible to participate in various MAWU activities.
2. Payment
shall be remitted into the Unions bank account.
THE
MAWU MEMBERSHIP FORM
Surname:
_______________________________________________________________________
First names:
_____________________________________________________________________
Current address: _________________________________________________________________
Telephone
number:________________________________________________________________
E-mail
address:__________________________________________________________________
Current occupation:_______________________________________________________________
Date of birth:____________________________
Highest qualification:____________________ Year you started
Publishing: ________________
List down works you have published:
Published
1. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
5. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have published more works please attach the list to
this form.
Unpublished
1. ---------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you have won book prizes please indicate below:
_______________________________________________________________________________
I wish to be registered as a member of the Malawi Writers Union
(MAWU). Enclosed herewith is the annual membership fee of K.................. I
pledge to abide by the Union’s constitution and take part in all its activities
for the enhancement and development of academic and non-fiction writing in the
country.
Signature___________________________
Date________________________________________
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