HIASFEST is Hadiza Ibrahim Aliyu Schools Festival. You don’t have its type anywhere in Nigeria. It is a brand from Niger State to the world.
HIASFEST is built around eleven major categories exclusively designed for teen artists in secondary schools. They are: On-the-spot Poetry Writing, On-the-spot Non-Fiction writing, On-the-spot Short Story Writing, Painting, Spoken Word, Contemporary Song in English, Cultural Dance, Quiz, Innovation, ICT/Technology and Drama. It is a 4-day festival minus arrival. A student can attend on his own with the support of his parents if his school is not attending. However, there are some categories that are open to all ages.
There are scholarship schemes, special awards, and national literary prizes like: The Nigeria Prize for Teen Authors (poetry and prose). The three best books in each category are published for the winners, free.
There are Nigeria Prize for Indigenous Languages (Hausa, Igbo, Gbagyi, Nupe, Yoruba, Fulfulde, Pidgin, French and Arabic) in creative writing and science books as well. The indigenous languages category is open to all ages.
HIASFEST has the following awards too: HCAF prize for the most performing branches; HCAF award for excellence in creative writing; the golden awards for Nigerian art administrators; HIASFEST star prize winners for male and female teen writers in Nigeria; the most valuable contestant awards for male and female at HIASFEST; the best teacher in-charge of schools for male and female; tuition scholarship for science and art; and honorary awards for distinguished sponsors. The overall winning schools (three in all) get cash prizes as well. Similarly, the first position in overall takes N1m for a grand science project to be conceived, invented back in their school and presented at the next edition of HIASFEST.
For four days, teen artists gather and engage in rigorous show of skills, guts and intellectual power in a contest that is wholesomely rewarding. At HIASFEST, we see beauty in contest, shocking performances, unlimited friendship, unity and camaraderie; we see cash, trophies, plaques and books as rewards for excellence; we see tears and joy for feats achieved or missed; we see the euphoria of setting forth the new generation of Nigerian craftsmen and women, in the most formidable and functional way, daring to go break bounds; and we see young inventors and craftsmen. This is HIASFEST!
The festival also has a PRE-HIASFEST workshop a month before the grand finale where interested teen artists undertake a 5-day mentoring programme in writing categories.
HIASFEST may have been designed for teen artists or secondary schools but in practical terms, it is a festival for all ages, including panel discussions by adults and teenagers. It is one of a kind in Africa.
This apex gathering of teen artists, in the biggest black nation of the earth, Nigeria, is sponsored by Alh. Bala Abdullahi Kwatu and the Aliyu Trust Foundation.
HIASFEST opens every 1st July and closes 20th January, the following year.
