South African Adult Literacy Exchange

-
ProLiteracy is proud to announce that our partner, Operation Upgrade will be hosting the South African Adult Literacy Information Exchange in Durban, South Africa on September 7-8 2010. This exciting conference takes place on International Literacy Day and is designed to bring together those responsible for adult literacy from all over Southern Africa. Delegates from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Bostwana, Swaziland, Lesotho, South Africa, and the United States will be represented at the conference. Participants will have opportunities to share information and to collaborate on practices and challenges to implementing successful adult literacy programs.

Our Vice President of International Programs, Lynn Curtis will be the keynote speaker, and will also be teaching a workshop after the conference for representatives of social organizations who are interested in learning about ProLiteracy’s model, Literacy for Social Change. The anticipated outcome is that groups will then be mobilized to be more effective through the use of adult literacy.

Operation Upgrade has worked in rural communities around Kwa Zulu-Natal with learners between ages 20-75 for 44 years. Many of the participants they serve are typically illiterate – unable to write their names or read a price tag in a supermarket when classes start. Operation Upgrade has created a model of integrated development education and support, using literacy classes as a vehicle to help people break out of the cycle of poverty.

Comments

  1. KrisJuly 13, 2011 at 11:14 AM

    I love the way in which this program/this work has been ongoing and sustainable.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CONFINTEA VI - Blogging from Belem, Brazil

-
Image
David Harvey, ProLiteracy President & CEO - From the International Civil Society Forum (ICSF) - Belem, Brazil - 11/28/09 Lynn Curtis, head of ProLiteracy´s international programs, and I, David Harvey, arrived this past Saturday after a 10 hour flight to Belem, Brazil, to participate in ICSF. Over 1000 NGOs from all over the world are participating in the Forum, ahead of UNESCO´s CONFINTEA conference. CONFINTEA only happens every 12 or 13 years, so this is a rare meeting indeed! The Forum is preparing NGOs to participate in CONFINTEA, and will prepare an action agenda to try and influence the outcome of CONFINTEA. David Harvey, From ICSF Belem, Brazil - 11/29/09 One of the opening speakers of ICSF, Jose Roberto Guerara, from the Asia/Pacific Association for Basic Education, asked people to stand up if they had participated in past CONFINTEA conferences, with the first happening in the late 40s. A few people stood up. Mr. Guerara then asked, ¨"what has changed since t
Read more

Increased Attention to Adult Literacy : U.S. Government and UN Join Forces

-
ProLiteracy’s 80 years of global experience have caused us to recognize the tragic reality that adult literacy, a crucial element of the development and poverty reduction process, is often missing from key international policy discussions. In the past few weeks, the adult literacy topic has been highlighted among top government and international organizations in three critical areas. Educating Girls Today, 796 million adults worldwide lack basic literacy skills; two-thirds of that population are women. UNESCO recently announced a joint project with the United States Department of State, targeting education rates among women. The program , “Better Lives, Better Future” will help stem dropout rates of adolescent girls as they transition from primary to secondary education. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hopes that this new focus will help policy makers effectively target education investments. “When we educate a young girl, we are shaping our world for a better tomorrow
Read more

ProLiteracy Celebrates International Women’s Day!

-
Image
Today, On March 8, 2011, we mark the Global Centenary for International Women’s Day – 100 years since the first International Women's Day. More than one million women and men attended rallies in 1911. Today, we remember and honor the achievements women have made all over the world. The United Nations Global Theme for International Women’s Day 2011 is: Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women. We at ProLiteracy would like to express our appreciation to our program partners who work in more than 30 countries to help women gain literacy skills and access to information about health, human rights, and micro enterprise. Every day, women open doors for new levels of education, employment, and progress for their families and communities. ProLiteracy celebrates women today! We stand in solidarity to support the many partners we have working on behalf of women in North/South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East to see women c
Read more