The Partners in Lifelong Learning Project

In September 2001, a group of dedicated individuals from five literacy organizations in the Simcoe/Muskoka region got together to attack the ongoing problem of raising literacy awareness. Members from each of The Midland Area Reading Council, The Barrie Literacy Council, The Literacy Society of South Muskoka, The Literacy Council of South Simcoe and The Simcoe/Muskoka Literacy Network felt that as a collaborative, they could develop a stronger awareness program than any one organization could individually. Together as the Simcoe/Muskoka Literacy Collaborative, they named the awareness project Partners in Lifelong Learning.

The Collaborative felt that developing activities that involve the entire family would promote the "lifelong" learning concept and educate the public that the home environment is the first place to begin building a solid foundation of literacy skills. These activities would also serve in reducing the stigma attached to adult literacy issues, and demonstrate to adults that learning with their children can be both beneficial and fun. Resulting from the group's brainstorming session was the conception of a two-year awareness campaign featuring two large, annual, social marketing events.

The awareness campaign ideas created a strong proposal that gained approval from both The Ontario Trillium Foundation; granting $133,000 over two years, and Human Resources Development Canada; granting a job creation position for the project. In March 2002, with the two funding grants, the coordination team was selected and the transformation of project into reality began.

The first social marketing event is a huge literacy festival, named The Road to Reading Festival. The festival will raise awareness of both literacy issues in the community and of the literacy services available to those in need. It is targeted toward families and will be held at the Southshore Centre, 205 Lakeshore Drive in Barrie, Ontario, on September 15, 2002. The festival will run from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm and admittance is free. To draw attendees from the Simcoe/Muskoka region, festival morning kick-off events in Midland, Alliston and Gravenhurst and free "shuttle" bus service are being offered. Attractions at the Road to Reading Festival include entertainment, authors, illustrators, children's activities and literacy information booths. Literacy themed performances for those ages 10 and under will be given by Cindy Cook from The Polka Dot Door, Performers for Literacy, The Barrie Public Library and Theatre by The Bay/for Kids. Tied into a lyric contest, and targeting children up to age 15 will be a Tribute to Britney and 'N Sync performance. Authors performing at the Festival include Bob Barton, Sonja Dunn, Trudee Romanek as well as illustrator Werner Zimmerman.

The second social marketing event is the provision of Literacy Workshops to families and day care providers in order to promote family literacy. Each partner community, Midland, Alliston, Barrie and Gravenhurst, will host free literacy workshops and in conjunction with Family Literacy Day on January 26, 2003.

It is felt that the implementation of these two marketing events will enable literacy councils faced with waiting lists, a lack of volunteers and limited funding, to better serve their communities. Increased community awareness will result in an increase of volunteer tutors, increased financial support and in-kind contributions, and shared responsibility for literacy improvement. If you would like more information please visit our website at www.roadtoreadingfestival.com or call (705) 730-0648.

Role - Play

Role-play activities are effective because they allow participants to focus on an idea or concept without being emotionally involved. This allows clear thinking which may otherwise be hindered by strong feelings of fear, sadness and hopelessness. The ideal role-play is to have the two or more necessary participants acting out a situation and one impartial observer who can offer input and suggestions. Often role-plays can help learners act out several scenarios, some positive and some negative. Discussions around the enactment with the whole group can be valuable tools to get various concepts and ideas across.

Role-plays demand a comfort level with group participants and a trust that any attempts are going to be valued and accepted. Facilitators should also participate in role-plays to demonstrate full inclusion and the fact that people can learn from each other. Role-plays are risk-free efforts which encourage listening and speaking. The acting out of various scenarios assists learners to internalize concepts and ideas.

[Taken from Personal Life Management Literacy Program for The Native Women’s Resource Centre - Facilitator’s Manual (1998), published by Native Women’s Resource Centre of Toronto Inc.]