New book on history of modern Seychelles launched |06 July 2009

It was launched recently at the National Institute of Education (NIE) in the presence of Minister of Education Bernard Shamlaye, his principal secretary Jeanne Simeon and other ministry officials, Minister for Finance Danny Faure, president of the Court of Appeal Francis Macgregor and leader of government business in the National Assembly Marie-Louise Potter.

Also attending were Marie-Antoinette Rose and Bernard Georges, both members of the National Assembly, headteachers, teachers, students, NIE director Alex Souffe and lecturers.

Mr Shamlaye thanked all those who contributed to producing the book. He also thanked Mr Faure for initiating the project and responding well to the complaints of teachers and curriculum developers about the lack of resources for teaching the history of Seychelles, especially in the modern period.

Mr Shamlaye called on teachers, curriculum developers and teacher-trainers to make good use of such a valuable resource and on young people to follow their example.

Kevin Shillington, a freelance historian based in London, was chosen for the project as he is an authority on African history and has lived and taught in Africa.

He has published a variety of books including History of Africa; The History of Southern Africa; Jugnauth: Prime Minister of Mauritius; Ghana and the Rawlings Factor; and Causes and Consequences of Independence in Africa.

Dr Shillington is also the editor of the Encyclopedia of African History, which is referred to as the new A-Z reference source on the entire history of Africa.

During the ceremony, the author gave a short presentation on the main points of the book. Seychelles as the 18th-century French settlement of a slave-owning society, the British takeover and the development of a post-slavery colonial society form part of the introduction to the main story.

After signing two copies of his books, Dr Shillington presented one to Minister Faure and one to Minister Shamlaye.

Mrs Simeon presented copies for the post-secondary institutions to the director of technical and further education, Fiona Ernesta, and to the director for schools, Merida Delcy.

A student from each secondary school was presented with copies for his or her school.

On behalf of all the students, Laetitia Adrienne from Mont Fleuri secondary thanked the government, the Ministry of Education and Dr Shillington for the resource.

She described it as a valuable gift from the government to enrich the study of modern history in Seychelles.

Dr Shillington thanked all those who helped him in his research and visits, and urged other people to continue the work he has started.

After the launch, books were on display and on sale in the NIE cafeteria at R175. They will also be available in local bookshops.