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Message from the Chair: |
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What if we all shared a vision? What if we had a common commitment to making Literacy and Numeracy learning opportunities consistently available to anyone who wanted access to them across Canada? What if we also said that we wanted those opportunities to be genuinely client or learner-centred and respectful of the differences in the ways in which we learn? |
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If we could agree on that vision of barrier-free access, and if we all spoke with one voice, isn't it possible that we could make it happen immediately? Isn't it possible that the strength of our will and our voices, the total value of our collective contributions, and our purpose, could all be seen to be making a difference? One of the most powerful resources we have is the people who are involved in this endeavour. Every person involved in the building of a more literate society brings to it their own unique sets of skills, talents and creative ideas, and their own piece of the vision. Working together with a common purpose and a vision of the possibilities, how can we find a user-friendly, accessible way to link the community to the resources, the information, the research and the support that are needed to eliminate the barriers, create nationwide partnerships, and define each of our roles and potential roles in the relationship? NALD, as a virtual Resource Centre and as a link to the community, offers a network of literacy organizations on the World Wide Web, information and reference materials on literacy, listings of discussion groups available for participants to trade and share, ideas and tools, the potential to explore unique research and learning opportunities, interactive learning possibilities, and the sharing of things that are still dreams. One of the other functions that a Virtual Resource Centre can perform is in the opportunity zone. Our synergistic, purposeful teams can identify the nature and the impact of future changes in information and learning systems and ensure that equitable access is always addressed in the discussion. Our most supportive role may be in providing the national opportunity for all of us to communicate our common concerns and our common vision, to identify the pieces of the puzzle and find co-operative, co-ordinated and supportive ways to put the pieces together. The NALD Virtual Resource Centre is there, ready to be a part of the solution and committed to sharing the vision. "...every moment is the right moment to begin" - J. Schell, The Fate of the Earth. |