2007EDU0127-001202
Sept. 27, 2007
VICTORIA – B.C. will help organize the first-ever Canada-wide literacy forum to use leading technology, Education Minister Shirley Bond announced today.
“About nine million adult Canadians are at the lowest literacy levels, including more than five million who lack the skills necessary to read a newspaper or fill out a job application,” said Bond. “This forum is an unprecedented opportunity for education partners from across Canada and experts from around the world to work together to open doors for all Canadians and help them realize their personal and professional potential.”
A pan-Canadian literacy forum will take place April 14‑15, 2008, and take advantage of webcasting, which uses Internet technologies to broadcast streaming video in real time to multiple locations. Five sites around the country will host keynote speakers, while several additional sites can tune in, contribute questions, and supplement with local sessions. All host sites will have an individual theme, such as family literacy, community literacy, adult literacy, school-age literacy, English-as-a-second-language or workplace literacy.
The pan-Canadian literacy forum was announced at the conclusion of the semi-annual meeting of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC), held in Victoria this week and chaired by Bond.
The forum is part of a new literacy action plan from CMEC, which aims to raise awareness about the importance of literacy and boost literacy levels from coast to coast to coast. The plan focuses on three strategies:
- sharing literacy policies among the provincial and territorial governments;
- creating networks of organizations and individuals to gather and share teaching resources for learners of all ages; and
- encouraging additional literacy research, statistic sharing, and the effective use of data.
“Helping people improve their literacy skills allows them to make the most of their abilities in their careers, as parents, and as members of our society,” said Advanced Education Minister Murray Coell, who is responsible for adult literacy. “Working together to build literacy levels is one of the most important things we can do for our individual jurisdictions, and for Canada as a whole.”
“The education ministers from across Canada are leaders in literacy, united in our commitment to learning and reading,” said Kelly Lamrock, Minister of Education for New Brunswick and incoming chair of CMEC. “That’s why we’ve worked together to develop the CMEC literacy action plan, giving children, families and communities across Canada the key to opportunity and prosperity.”
“All the provinces and territories will benefit if we work together,” said Bond. “B.C. is proud to serve CMEC as the lead province for literacy and to champion the upcoming pan-Canadian literacy forum.”
From the Victoria meeting, CMEC ministers also reaffirmed their commitment to priority action plans involving Aboriginal education and post-secondary capacity, as well as implementing a strategy for post-secondary education and skills training in Canada.
Any national and regional co-operative efforts resulting from the forum and CMEC’s literacy action plan will complement work already underway in individual provinces and territories. B.C., for example, recently launched the second phase of ReadNow BC, the province’s literacy action plan. To date, British Columbia has invested nearly $44.5 million in ReadNow BC, increasing investment in new literacy programs and services since 2001 to a total of over $125 million.
Media
contact:
Lara Perzoff
Public Affairs Bureau
Ministry of Education
250 356-5963
250 920-9040 (cell)
