On March 18, 2000 the Strategic Literacy Plan for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador was announced by Education Minister Judy Foote. The plan is called Words To Live By. It looks at literacy for all ages outlining directions in the areas of early literacy, the formal K-12 system, and adult education, as well as a new approach to planning and coordination.

The plan originates from a consultative process that involved a steering committee made up of representatives of the Literacy Development Council, learners, literacy providers, government departments and community agencies. There were 31 stakeholder and public meetings held across Newfoundland and Labrador, and over 50 written submissions.

" The cooperative approach in putting the Strategic Literacy Plan together is indicative of government's approach to the implementation of the plan. We look forward to working with the Literacy Development Council, the National Literacy Secretariat, school boards, the College of the North Atlantic, Memorial University and community-based organizations to reach our goals of raising the literacy levels of our province to be among the highest in the country"said Minister Foote.

Joining the Minister of Education in announcing the plan were Dr. William Fagan, Chair of the Literacy Development Council and Ms. June Alteen, Honourary Chair for the Literacy Endowment Fund.

The Strategic Literacy Plan also includes Ms Alteen's appointment whose role is to raise contributions from the private sector - $2 million over two years. The fund will be used for adult literacy initiatives.

The announcement included the Strategic Literacy Funding Committee and Funding Guidelines for grants. The Guidelines state that "Priority areas for funding have been established in accordance with directions determined by the Strategic Literacy Plan."These priorities are reflected in the goals of Words To Live By which are:

• Literacy levels which are among the highest in Canada
• A culture which values literacy as a desirable goal for all people
• An integrated approach to literacy development

For further information on Words To Live By and Funding Application Package contact:

Literacy Unit, Department of Education
P.O. Box 8700, St. John's, NF A1B 4J6
Tel: 709 729-6185 or
http://www.gov.nf.ca