Kara Lassen Oliver and I recently led a training for the Abidjan’s local publishing team, Editions Kanien, in the Cote d’Ivoire annual conference. The training was held in the morning at La Maison d’ L’Esperance, a hotel in Abidjan. About 30 people attended the training.
I led a workshop on “Two Kinds of Editing,” it introduced the group to a copy session using an editing exercise. Participants gathered in small groups as we passed out an unedited meditation for La Chambre Haute, the French version of The Upper Room. The goal was to have the groups edit the meditation via copy session. Afterward, the group discussed the exercise together.
Kara then led a workshop on “Writing with Theological Accuracy.” Powerpoints and handouts for both presentations had been translated to French. The workshop was well-received.
Two young clergy who are attending a 3-year publishing course in Cameroon were present. They each made a presentation on what they have been learning about publishing of all kinds—including digital, multimedia, and music editing.
In the afternoon, we met with the Editions Kanien team members who were present. These included Philippe Adjobi, Matthieu Guebi, the two students, Rev. Athangba (appointed by the bishop to review masters and doctoral theses for possible publication), a woman who focuses on marketing and distribution, and Lassm, who translates La Chambre Haute meditations from English to French.
DRI staff and Editions Kanien had a conversation about the recent work of Editions Kanien and their plans for the new year. We ended the meeting by signing a new publishing agreement through 2020.