ABE scholarship fund set up by workers

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continuous learning in our work environment so we decided to explore this scholarship with the college."

Cyril Farrell, principal of the local college, thanked the employees of Abitibi-Price. He says "the scholarship will provide some much-needed assistance for deserving students in the Adult Basic Education Program."

The scholarship, called the Academic Preparation Assistance Scholarship, will provide assistance to individuals who have demonstrated a need and desire to complete the basic education requirements to pursue further career training. The scholarship will fund up to 80 per cent of the tuition fee normally paid by the student. The college will contribute an in-kind amount equal to the remaining tuition fee. To qualify, a student must show a need for funding and a desire to increase their educational levels. The student must be enrolled in Level 2 or 3 of the provincial Adult Basic Education program, and apply in writing for the scholarship.

A committee will review applications and recommend awards. It will consist of an Abitibi-Price employee, an Adult Basic Education instructor and the college's guidance counsellor. Each year, the committee will accept applications up to the end of the second week of September and the end of the second week of January until the scholarship fund has been awarded.

The Great Labrador Novel Contest

If you've ever dreamed of writing the Great Labrador Novel, now is your chance. CBC Radio and the Labrador Literacy Information and Action Network is sponsoring a writing contest. To enter, write the first page of a novel (maximum 250 words) giving the idea of your story and its unique Labrador characteristics. Novel may be any genre: mystery, sci-fi, history, romance, adventure. To meet CBC broadcast standard, please refrain from using profanity or explicit sexual content.

Send entries to CBC Radio at P.O. Box 1270, Stn, B, Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Labrador, A0P 1E0. The deadline for entries is March 14. There will be plenty of prizes to be awarded at the Labrador Winter Games. The contest is only open to residents of Labrador.

International conference

The creators of the First Stage program have been invited to present a workshop at an international conference. Roberta Yetman and Ed Oldford have been invited to present a workshop at the University of Surrey in England, July 4-6. The conference, Lifelong Learning - Rhetoric, Reality and Public Policy, will attract groups from South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, the United States, Slovenia, and England.

"Attending this conference will give us different ways of looking at the challenges associated with Adult education," says Mr. Oldford.

The two were invited to attend the conference after submitting a proposal to the university. They are only one of two groups in Canada to be asked to attend the conference. Furthermore, they are the only group which isn't university-based.

"What we're looking at is taking this idea, which was developed by people in the rural area, and presenting it at an international conference," he says. "We have the opportunity to show how the people of rural Newfoundland developed this program.

Walk for Literacy, May 31

Books for Babies will hold a Walk for Literacy on Saturday, May 31, 1997. Money raised at the walk will provide reading material for new babies and their parents/caregivers. Many people have agreed to help with the walk. You should plan to join them. Encourage your friends to join in. Look for information in you local area. Call a literacy council or a school. Check bulletin boards.

Literacy Forum slated for Plum Point

A learner/volunteer literacy forum will be held at Plum Point from March 12-14. Organizers are hopeful that the response and impact of this forum will be as positive as last year's forum at Rocky Harbour.

The purpose of the forum is to bring literacy volunteers, learners and community stakeholders together to share information and past experiences to help build a more literate society.

It is also hoped that the forum will strengthen current volunteers and learners and inform the public about literacy. The forum will include communities from St. Anthony to Trout River, including the White Bay-central area. "It is essential that the region come together to help lower the illiteracy level," says an organizer.