Students from the British Council’s Connecting Classrooms initiative recently had fun interviewing authors, poets and journalists at the annual Storymoja Hay Festival held in Nairobi.

Dubbed ‘a festival of ideas’, Storymoja is modelled on the 21-year-old annual Hay Festival in the UK. The three-day event offers the public a feast of books, storytelling, skits, music, discussion forums, demonstrations, workshops, open-mike sessions, debates, exhibitions, live performances and competitions.

According to the festival’s website, it’s a place for readers, writers, listeners and thinkers to interact and provides exposure to some of the world’s leading names in literature as well as some up-and-coming authors.

Communications manager Joe Lemaron says the British Council brought students from eight schools to the festival. Dressed in Connecting Classrooms T-shirts, they were highly visible.

‘They covered the entire event, interviewing and filming the writers Vikram Seth, Hanif Kureishi, and Kate Adie, Kenyan organiser and author Muthoni Garland and the young Kenyan poet Njeri Wangari.’

According to Lemaron, the students showed enthusiasm and a willingness to learn at the festival.

‘When Kate Adie was facilitating a presentation from Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 11-year-old Charles Owuor got on the stage with the microphone and asked the most challenging question of the day.’

He asked Steiner about the Kenyan president and the destruction of the Mau Forest (Kenya’s biggest water catchment area); bringing a standing ovation from the audience.

Lemaron says the festival has alerted more students to the British Council’s programmes.

‘We now have a very keen bunch of students in Nairobi who want to do more with us on covering events, so we will see how we can develop this. The plan for the future is Young Journalist Clubs across sub-Saharan Africa.’

Deogracia Owende, from Precious Blood High School says she was glad to be part of Storymoja.

‘I was really happy you entrusted us with the responsibility you did. I also learnt a lot.’

Storymoja festival ran from 31 July to 02 August 2009. Read about past festivals and read more about other activities that took place by visiting the festival’s website. To learn more about British Council Africa and what events are coming up, please visit our events page and be part of a global community.