National Adult Literacy Database

The Centre for Literacy is a national centre of expertise on literacy and essential skills and has national board representation. The first board meeting for the new member will be in December 2012.

Designed for primary and secondary schools in Britain, No Pens Day is for speaking and listening and reflects the increased focus on embedding speech, language and communication into all subjects.

Each month NALD releases Library user statistics in a feature known as the Top 20 downloads. The report examines the number of NALD Library documents which are viewed and downloaded by visitors to the websites NALD.

Clear Language and Design's Sally McBeth has selected two "humble items" from her household mail to illustrate the benefits of choosing clear language in writing. The first piece she has rewritten for the sake of clarity; she is offering the second one as an exercise to help mark International Clear Language Day.

We should never underestimate the important roles played by community learning centres across our vast country. One remarkable centre, located in what has been described as one of Canada’s poorest postal codes, is Vancouver’s Canucks Family Education Centre.

This toolkit from the American Library Association will help you add, expand, and advocate for adult literacy services at your library. The suggestions will help you reach and serve new and non-readers and establish the library as an essential literacy partner in your community.

During this time Learning Disabilities Associations, including the Learning Disabilities Association of New Brunswick, ask that you get informed and help share the awareness of the challenges and strengths of people with a learning disability.

Ontario is making it easier for post-secondary education graduates to get their start in life by extending the grace period for repaying student loans for those who take their first job post-graduation in the not-for-profit sector.

Northwest Territories recipients of the Council of the Federation Literacy Award and the Ministerial Literacy Awards were honoured during the annual Adult Learners’ Luncheon in Yellowknife.

According to a new UIS study, efforts to halve adult illiteracy rates by 2015, as agreed under the Education for All (EFA) targets, are likely to be met with limited success in many countries. Education systems struggling to accommodate growing populations, maturing illiterate youth, and the marginalization of women and girls will continue to hinder progress. The report focuses on 41 countries in four regions.

ABC Life Literacy Canada is delighted to announce the 2012 Life Literacy Award winners in recognition of outstanding achievement in adult literacy and essential skills through community literacy, workplace education, journalism and corporate excellence.

Government ministers in the Atlantic region responsible for adult literacy are continuing their commitment to that cause. On the occasion of International Literacy Day September 8, they launched a series of posters highlighting literacy champions from the four Atlantic provinces. The posters recognize the importance of strong literacy skills to individuals, communities, economies and societies.

Ofsted’s recent reports Moving English Forward (published in March 2012) and Removing barriers to literacy (January 2011) highlight that too many children and young people are falling behind at the beginning of education and lack the practical skills to successfully make their way in the adult world.

"Literacy is a ladder out of poverty, but the real issue is poverty. Some of our former learners said it seemed as if they were caught in a never-ending cycle. You need school to get a job, but some people can’t afford to come to school. They’re hungry, they can’t concentrate or they have an upset stomach. It’s basically do or die. It’s like you’re thrown into a well with no rope to pull you up."

In celebration of International Literacy Day 2012, Global Literacy Professional Development Network (www.glpdn.net) and IRA’s Global Operations Unit released A Practical Guide to Action Research for Literacy Educators.