March Focus on Literacy:

BC Education Month / International Adult Learners' Week (IALW)

Traditionally, each spring, B.C. dedicates a week for the celebration of education and learning. This year, “in honour of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Crown Colony of British Columbia and on behalf of her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth the Second, the B.C. Lieutenant Governor has proclaimed March 2008 Education Month in B.C.”

Find out more on the Education Month website: http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/edmonth/ and Read the Provincial Proclamation http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/edmonth/proclamation.pdf.

March 3-9 was declared International Adult Learners' Week (IALW) by UNESCO http://www.unesco.ca/en/activity/education/AdultLearners.aspx
http://www2.literacy.bc.ca/MediaReleaseIALW.pdf

We will have full reports in the next edition of the E-Bulletin on these two events (below) organized by Literacy BC to mark IALW.

BC Learner Leadership Project Launch (March 5)

Launch of the provincial Learner Leadership Project, which had its origins in the 2007 Summer Literacy Institute in Vancouver.

Forum: English Literacy for New Canadians: the intergenerational challenge (March 6)

A groundbreaking forum for stakeholders from the immigrant settlement, ESL and literacy fields, featuring a review of current evidence and an exploration of new models that can address the connection between low English literacy of immigrant parents/caregivers and the educational development of their children.

Raising Awareness…
Literacy in Transit: “Everyone Can Learn to Read Better”

Bus riders in 26 BC communities are being encouraged to dial the Literacy BC toll-free help line during March to find a literacy program for themselves or someone they know.

Transit ads promoting the Read 234 toll-free number (1-888-READ-234) and the BC Literacy Directory www.literacybc.ca/directory are appearing on hundreds of buses throughout BC. The month-long public awareness campaign, created by Literacy BC, is time to coincide with International Adult Learners Week (March 3-9) and runs to March 31.

Ads will appear on buses in: Abbotsford, Campbell River, Castlegar, Chilliwack, Courtenay, Cranbrook, Dawson Creek, Duncan, Fort St. John, Kamloops, Kelowna, Kitimat, Nanaimo, Nelson, Penticton, Port Alberni, Powell River, Prince George, Prince Rupert, Sechelt, Squamish, Terrace, Trail, Vernon, Victoria, Williams Lake.