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Emmanuel Kayijuka and Beatrice Igihozo, both from Rwanda, stood on the platform, sharing the dream born from the ashes of that war-to begin the first Christian publishing house in war-torn Rwanda. The occasion was LITT-WORLD 2000, an international Christian print media conference held at High Leigh Conference Centre in Hoddesdon, England, October 23-27. Designed to offer training and encouragement to Christian publishers, editors, and writers in developing countries, this conference brought together more than 170 delegates from 52 nations.

Keynote speaker Daniel Bourdanné, a widely respected African publisher from Côte d’Ivoire, presented the theme of the conference: “21st Century: Giving Readers Hope.” The relevance of his message was highlighted as news arrived at High Leigh of a government coup in his homeland.

Seminars were held on publishing priorities, workshops on everything from graphic design and photojournalism to the editor as entrepreneur. There were also panel discussions on confronting social injustice or detecting future trends.

Christian publishers and writers from around the world volunteered time and expertise for training sessions. Robin Jones Gunn, author of the Christy Miller series for teens and award-winning writer Anne de Graaf were among those offering writing consultations. Dan Elliott, editorial director at Tyndale House Publishers and OMF Literature CEO Ramon Rocha from the Philippines provided practical help. Lawrence Darmani, prize-winning author and publisher from Ghana, and David Alexander, founder of Lion Publishing, explained how to keep a shoestring business afloat. In all, more than 50 conference delegates participated as resource personnel. Many shared their stories.

Albania was the most atheistic nation on the planet, walled off from the outside world for more than 50 years, a place where saying the name of God could mean a death sentence. Yet when the communist regime fell 10 years ago, the hunger for God was still there. Albanian Christian Besa Shapllo felt a burden for the children of her country, growing up without any knowledge that a Savior existed (see July 21 issue). When she started Miracle Magazine, it was the only children’s literature being produced in the shambles of post-communism. Today it has been voted one of the top five magazines in Albania and is being distributed in schools across the nation.

Romanians Voicu and Kitty Bojan told of how an anonymous gift of equipment transformed their dream of Christian publishing into reality. Ruth Padilla DeBorst, director of the Latin American Christian publishing cooperative Certeza Unida, shared how Letra Viva, a Latin America Mission partner ministry, has through its network of Christian writers and publishers been able to address the dilemma of small indigenous publishers-how to distribute national Christian writers across an entire continent.

Other stories were less upbeat. “How far should we go as Christians in addressing social and political injustice?” asked a Zimbabwean editor. It was no idle question. For making just such a stand, the police had been at his door the day he left for LITT-WORLD. They made it clear they would be back upon his return. A young Serbian writer had left LITT-WORLD ’98 with great dreams. “When I got home last time,” he shared sadly, “the bombs were falling. They fell on my city for four months. When the war finished, I was drafted into the army for a year. Now I am beginning again.”

LITT-WORLD, a bi-annual gathering, is sponsored by Media Associates International, a nonprofit Christian print media training agency. Founded in 1985, MAI seeks to train and encourage national Christian writers, editors, designers, and publishers, particularly in developing countries with limited Christian publishing or witness. MAI provides on-site training and workshops across all five continents. A network of Christian professionals from the publishing world donates time and skills to this ministry.

John Maust, president of MAI (Bloomingdale, Ill.) and former LAM journalist and editor of Latin America Evangelist magazine, sums up MAI’s vision-and the urgency of the conference theme. “God does use the written word to transform lives . . . and to instill hope.

Spreading the news of this Hope-whether to a grief-stricken [refugee] in the Balkans or a smug, suburban dweller-is a hard, but holy, calling.”

January 5, 2001