Opinion-Editorial: Canada's Education Ministers Make Literacy a Priority
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
By The Honourable Kelly Lamrock, Minister of Education for New Brunswick and Chair of the Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC)
By The Honourable Shirley Bond, Minister of Education for British Columbia, CMEC'S lead province for literacy
September 5, 2008
On September 8, Canada will join countries around the world to celebrate International Literacy Day (ILD). ILD was established in 1965 by UNESCO as a day in which governments, business and labour groups, nongovernmental organizations, communities and individuals discuss the importance of literacy and come together to address the challenges of raising literacy levels for all people.
Canada's education ministers have identified literacy as an essential skill to thriving in an increasingly knowledge-based economy and socially progressive and sustainable society. In line with these goals, the ministers have spent the last year focusing on the importance of raising literacy levels in each province and territory.
With events planned across the country, International Literacy Day provides every Canadian with a chance to reflect on the importance of literacy education for all segments of our population.
Through the leadership of Canada's education ministers, our country is considered a world leader in literacy. But further progress is still needed. Low literacy among both children and adults is a serious challenge that is undermining Canada's overall performance economically, socially, and globally. People with literacy challenges live in every community in Canada. In fact, many Canadians have trouble with everyday reading and writing tasks, such as reading a newspaper or understanding a bus schedule. This means that we have a number of Canadians who are struggling to participate fully in our society.
Literacy skills enable individuals to participate fully in the workplace and to pursue their dreams. These skills help individuals access the information they need to live a healthy life and to manage their health. Literacy builds confidence. Through literacy parents can develop and build relationships with their children as they share time reading together.
Literacy is a key ingredient to Canada's ability to stay competitive in the 21st century knowledge economy and remains a vital priority in ensuring the health, safety, and quality of life for all Canadians.
The Council of Ministers of Education, Canada (CMEC) – through the framework of Learn Canada 2020 – identified literacy as a top priority and created a literacy action plan to raise awareness about the importance of improving literacy levels from coast to coast to coast. This literacy action plan stresses sharing successful literacy policies, research, statistics and data, and teaching resources for learners of all ages.
International Literacy Day offers an excellent opportunity to build on the strides made during the Pan-Canadian Interactive Literacy Forum that was held in April by CMEC. The first of its kind, the forum was an immense success that connected approximately 3,000 learners, literacy experts, and representatives from the education, non-profit, business and labour sectors at nine sites around the country. Each site engaged with an individual theme and, collectively, these themes helped give participants a comprehensive understanding of the literacy challenges and opportunities that exist across Canada.
Leading-edge communication technology connected participants from across Canada in a single pan-Canadian conversation. This conversation was supported, both virtually and in person, by keynote speakers from the fields of education and business, as well as members of the media and entertainment community. In two days of workshops, discussions, and presentations, members contributed to a national network of information sharing.
Participants have since taken the knowledge and strategies acquired during the forum and shared them within their respective communities, thereby marking a unified, nationwide movement that has strengthened communities across the country and has directly affected the lives of millions of Canadians.
The Pan-Canadian Interactive Literacy Forum has created a legacy of resources online to further benefit educators, learners, literacy providers, and all Canadians. To access these resources and for more information, visit www.literacy.cmec.ca. Literacy is truly more than just words. Get involved in local literacy initiatives to support the long-term prosperity of our communities, our provinces and territories, and our country.
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Information Tamara Davis
Coordinator, Communications
CMEC
Tel.: (416) 804-6548
E-mail: t.davis@cmec.ca
Web site: www.cmec.ca