The Literacy Project #TM

'Once, about 3 months ago, after having some glasses of wine together, he told me that when I should be 25 he would share with me the secrets of his favourite writers. A friend of his mentioned Borges as being his top one.

So you can deduce from that that my house is full of books.'

* 17 years ago, while collecting data for my doctoral research, I approached my students to ask them whether they would like to join me in this exciting enterprise. M a l i n a was one of the couple dozens who accepted to try the discovery journey. So, she kept a 'literacy diary' of which the first entry focused on what happens at home. Now, 17 years later, I am priviledged to still be in contact with her as a 'Facebook friend'. While enjoying her vivid and telling postings, the photos she shares made me go back to her 1999 diary...made me see the story in them. She kindly agreed to 'participate', again. To watch me and validate the story. So, in the next postings, I will try to tell the story I see in her Facebook photos. A story about family and literacy. A story about how books and reading and talking about literacy shapes the route and lives of our childen and young ones. Thanks, Malina!
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Acum 17 ani, in timp ce colectam datele pentru doctorat, mi-am intrebat studentele daca ar vrea sa mi se alature in aventura asta. M a l i n a a fost una dintre cele vreo doua duzini care au acceptat sa sa incerce drumul asta de descoperire. Asa ca a tinut un ‘jurnal de alfabetism’ in care primul text a fost despre ceea ce se intampla acasa. Acum, 17 ani mai tarziu, sunt norocoasa sa fiu inca in legatura cu ea ca si prietena pe Facebook’. In timp ce savurez postarile pline de savoare si sensuri, fotografiile pe care le imparte cu noi m-au facut sa ma intorc la jurnalul ei din 1999...m-au facut sa vad povestea din ele. Malina a fost de acord, din nou, sa participe. Sa stea cu ochii pe mine si sa valideze povestea. Asa ca, in urmatoarele postari aici, voi incerca sa spun povestea pe care o vad EU in fotografiile ei de pe Facebook. O poveste despre familie si alfabetism. O poveste despre cm cartile si cititul si vorbitul despre astea modeleaza drumurile si vietile copiilor nostri.Multumesc, Malina!

reading comics and illustrated books counts as reading!...and learning!
daca citesti benzi desentate si carti cu poze, se pune ca citesti!...si inveti!

How Nigeria is Using Comic Books to Teach History With illustrated books, artists and publishers hope to help the country avoid mistakes of the past.

collecting and processing data about literacy levels of people in prisons is the first step towards taking action

Prisoner literacy levels: a worrying lack of statistics Brian Creese. NRDC (National Research and Development Centre for Adult Literacy and Numeracy) ‘When I learned to read at the age of 16 I suddenly got in touch with education, with the chance of be...

in addition, it is good to know that this year a major European network dedicated to literacy has been established ELINET - European Literacy Policy Network, based on on a report of EU HIGH LEVEL GROUP OF EXPERTS ON LITERACY

'February 2014 80 European organisations launch the European Literacy Policy Network ELINET in Vienna

From the 24th until the 27th of February 2014, 80 organisations from 28 countries mark the start of the European Literacy Policy Network (ELINET) in Vienna, Austria. One in five European 15 year olds, as well as nearly 75 million adults, lack basic reading and writing skills, which makes it hard for them to get a job, and increases their risk of poverty and social exclusion. H.R.H. Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands will launch the network to prevent and reduce illiteracy in Europe. Furthermore, Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth will elucidate this major new step in a special video message.

In 2011 the European Commission established a High Level Group of experts in the field of literacy. This group examined how to support literacy throughout lifelong learning, identified common success factors of literacy programmes and policy initiatives, and came up with proposals for improving literacy. Following the work of the Group, the European Commission initiated a network to raise awareness, gather and analyse policy information, and exchange policy approaches, good practices, and initiatives to reduce the number of children, young people and adults with low literacy skills by 2020.

The launch of the network is organized by the network´s Coordinator, the University of Cologne (Prof. Dr. Christine Garbe, Martin Gross), in cooperation with the Austrian Book Club in Vienna. The official opening will be at the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research. The 80 partner organisations from 28 countries (of which 24 are EU Member States) consist of existing national literacy associations and foundations, policymakers, literacy centres, and other stakeholder groups working in the field.

Contact

To learn more about the European Literacy Network, please contact:
Prof. Dr. Christine Garbe, University of Cologne, Germany
+49-221-7895-5588 or +49-170-4086-321, [email protected]'

ec.europa.eu