An e-publication of the International Literacy Institute (www.literacy.org)
-- established by UNESCO and University of Pennsylvania in 1994 --
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We welcome you to the first issue of our e-newsletter, LITERACY INNOVATIONS, which is a continuation of our print newsletter, first published in 1996. The new electronic version will continue to link colleagues around the world with changes and innovations in literacy work.
We hope to spark discussion and constructive debate on a variety of approaches to literacy work. Please feel free to record your comments or discussion points on our Literacy Innovations / July/August 2001 Comments page. And then check back in a few days to see any responses. Thanks for helping make this a lively discussion area!
~~This study focuses on the knowledge base that is currently available as well as the gaps that need to be filled in order for the literacy and adult education field to make substantial progress in the coming decade. This document can serve as an up-to-date roadmap for where the field has been and where it needs to go.
(The complete report (.pdf) can be found here.)
Related Resources:
Follow-up on the Dakar World Education Conference
http://www.unesco.org/education/efa/
United Nations Decade for Literacy
http://www.unesco.org/education/litdecade/introduction.html
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~~ Indigenous knowledge and the reality of the poor should be used as the starting point of effective development in the current participatory trend in literacy methodologies. In this innovative framework, literacy is not an externally introduced force of change but rather is viewed as a learning process in which the adult learner actively participates. One of the implications of this view for literacy methodologies is the change in the nature of the literacy primer. Reading materials now need to be generated by the learners themselves who need to be creatively involved in this responsive process. However, serious questions are raised about the learners' ability to build relevant quality learning materials. In the section of a "Book in Progress," four dimensions of this participatory approach to literacy are explored. (from Symbolic to Participatory Literacy) http://www.adbi.org/bookinprogress/shift12.htm
Related Resources:
Literacy and Social Change: From a Woman's Perspective (Mi Shiknar: I Will Learn) by U. Samant (1996 World Conference on Literacy paper, quoted in the book chapter)
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The ILI is pleased to report on a new project in the area of information technology, literacy, and basic education in India, called the Bridges to the Future Initiative (BFI). For more information, see the following resources:
Press release from the Chief Minister's Offce, Hyderabad, India, May 19, 2001
http://www.andhrapradesh.com/apwebsite/news/press3/press_19_05_2001.html
Bridges to the Future Initiative website
IT and Education for the Poorest of the Poor (This article is reproduced with permission from the July/August 2001 issue of TechKnowLogia. Copyright © 2001 Knowledge Enterprise, Inc. TechKnowLogia is an international bi-monthly journal of technologies for the advancement of knowledge and learning, available FREE on the Internet: http://www.TechKnowLogia.org)
~~ With the use of satellite technology, SHOMA is able to broadcast educational material to teachers in all corners of South Africa. Educational material (containing video, audio, and associated data) designed to support the curriculum is broadcast weekly via Siyanda Satellite Services at high speed. (The SLTP report regarding the activities of SHOMA can be found at here. The website of SHOMA Education Foundation is http://www.shoma.org.za/.)
Related Resources:
Supporting Teachers with Technology: Don't Do Today's Jobs with Yesterday's Tools by Mary Fontaine, The LearnLink Project, Academy for Educational Development (AED) (one of a number of articles in this issue of the online journal TechKnowLogia; free subscription service)
http://techknowlogia.org/TKL_active_pages2/TableOfContents/main.asp?IssueNumber=8
Teaching the Teachers by Hilary Perraton (Knowledge Bank Paper #5 from The Imfundo Initiaitive
http://www.imfundo.org/Hilaryfive/contents.htm
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~~ Ramchandra Paudel knows that 7.8 million people in Nepal cannot sign their names and 2.6 million children are engaged in child labor. Only about 36% of the 22 million inhabitants of Nepal are literate. CHILDREN-Nepal works towards strengthening the capacities of children so that they can meet their basic needs, in a way that will be sustainable in the future. It works directly with children and also with their families, helping them to break away from discrimination based on caste, disability, gender, and social status. To share with you more about CHILDREN-Nepal and its educational/literacy activities, Ramchandra Paudel is going to tell you the story of one of the children that they are working with. Her name is Israt. (You can read Israt's story here.)
Related Resources:
Participatory Community Video: Post Literacy
http://www.panasia.org.sg/nepalnet/education/video.htm
Educate the Children (NGO)
http://www.etc-nepal.org/
UNESCO in Nepal
http://www.unesco.org.np/
The Future is Bright: Majhuli
http://www.comlink.apc.org/fic/newslett/eng/nl27/nepal2.htm
Children Nepal - Denmark (Social Integration Forum for working children)
http://childrennepal.dk/e/introduction/
~~ The Translators Association of the Philippines (TAP) is an NGO that is committed to serving the indigenous communities of the Philippines by providing them with opportunities and options to improve the quality of their lives through education. In this "Voices from the Field" piece, Melinda Awid describes the context for the work of TAP in Western Subanon as well as the various projects and their contributions to sustainable development in the region. We are pleased to have this first person account of the work in Western Subanon be part of our introductory issue of Literacy Innovations. Click here for the full version of Melinda's account.
Related resources:
Community Learning Approach (CLA) for Literacy Promotion of Women in the Fishing Village of Region I (Philippines)
Asia Pacific Literacy Data Base (Asia/Pacific Cultural Centre for UNESCO)
http://www.accu.or.jp/profile/2_7literacyj.htm
Dear colleagues,
~~ This issue of LITERACY INNOVATIONS is timed to coincide with International Literacy Day (ILD) on September 8, 2001. By providing "Literacy Dispatch" and "Voices from the Field" sections, we hope to stimulate further the kind of energy that comes from such special days as ILD. At the same time, we anticipate the announcment before the end of the year of the UN Decade for Literacy, which will add further attention to global literacy.
~~ We at the ILI have been focused for many years on how to link the best of applied research and development to practice in the field in order to help solve a variety of literacy challenges worldwide. Our print newsletter, LITERACY INNOVATIONS, has provided updated and credible information to people working in the field since 1996.
~~ The timing is now right to move to an e-newsletter of timely information. We hope that you will take advantage of this new e-version of INNOVATIONS. It is an experiment, and one for which we would seek your comments. It will evolve over time, and your suggestions will be most welcome. Many thanks in advance for your feedback!
Dan Wagner
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We encourage and welcome your submissions to the e-version of LITERACY INNOVATIONS (see publication guidelines). Please read the short descriptions of the section headings below so that you know which category might be best suited for your contribution.
We hope to spark discussion and constructive debate on a variety of approaches to literacy work. Please feel free to record your comments or discussion points on our Literacy Innovations / July/August 2001 Comments page. And then check back in a few days to see any responses. Thanks for helping make this a lively discussion area!
Copyright © 2006 Literacy Research Centers: National Center on Adult Literacy (NCAL) and International Literacy Institute (ILI),
at University of Pennsylvania/Graduate School of Education, LITERACY.org. All rights reserved. www.literacy.org
(Questions about this site? Please contact boyle@literacy.upenn.edu.)
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