Literacy for Community Development

The NWT Literacy Council is a territorial non-government coalition funded through the National Literacy Secretariat. We promote and support literacy development in all official languages of the Northwest Territories. The NWT Literacy Council has members across the NWT with board representation from each of the regions. We provide assistance and support to community organizations interested in developing and maintaining local literacy initiatives throughout the NWT. All of our activities are directly related to capacity building and community development.

Literacy is much more than reading and writing. It is about having a voice, discovering possibilities and actively participating in the social, economic and political life of our communities. Literacy is a process in which people gain greater control over their lives.

Likewise, community development is a process that supports community members to work together to address local issues and take action. It is about building capacity to identify and work together for solutions that support the health and well-being of the whole community.

Our work at the Literacy Council focuses on community development through literacy programs. We recognize the links between literacy and poverty, literacy and health, literacy and families, literacy and justice, literacy and civic participation. Literacy viewed this way is a catalyst for change.

What do we do?

• We work with communities to help develop local literacy projects.
• We provide resources to literacy practitioners and other community workers.
• We develop teaching, learning and promotional materials for use by literacy practitioners, teachers, and other community workers.
• We monitor and respond to territorial and federal literacy policies.
• We research literacy issues affecting the NWT.
• We encourage reading and writing at all ages.

How do we do that?

Training

• We develop and deliver literacy workshops to practitioners and community workers.
• We develop and deliver facilitator training for family literacy programs.
• We develop and deliver plain language workshops.
• We organize professional development training for literacy practitioners.

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