International Literacy Day, declared by UNESCO each year on Sept. 8, celebrates literacy as a basic human right and the foundation of all learning.
In British Columbia, the importance of literacy as a foundational skill is recognized year-round through the efforts of literacy programs for people of all ages in communities all across the province.
This, Saturday, Sept. 8, Decoda Literacy Solutions would like to acknowledge the tremendous value that these programs bring to British Columbia.
In B.C., one student in five is not completing high school in the expected time.
Research by Statistics Canada shows that between 2008 and 2009, there was a net loss in employment for individuals with less than a high school diploma, and employment rates for this group continue to fall.
As of 2011, employment levels for individuals with less than a high school diploma were 14.5 per cent lower than in 2008, and their labour market outcomes were poor.
Better literacy is correlated with higher income, and every measure of community strength, from health to voting rates, is improved as literacy improves.
In order to sustain economic recovery and enhance economic growth, B.C.’s citizens, our greatest resource, need support for continuous learning in an increasingly complex technology-based world.
“Literacy changes lives,“ says Brenda Le Clair, chief executive officer of Decoda Literacy Solutions. “Community adult literacy programs offer people who need a second chance a way to gain skills and confidence, to find or keep employment, to move on to further education, and to participate more fully in their communities.”
Decoda Literacy Solutions, B.C.’s provincial literacy organization, supports a network of 102 community literacy task groups representing over 400 B.C. communities.
Last year, these task groups worked throughout their communities to stretch scarce resources and maximize options to operate more than 1,180 literacy programs attended by more than 102,500 adults, children, youth and seniors. Programs range from mother-infant reading programs to tutoring for adults to computer classes for seniors.
“Literacy is the foundation of individual learning and community prosperity. This International Literacy Day help build literacy in your community,” urges Le Clair. “Attend a program. Volunteer as a tutor. Start a training program at your workplace. Donate time, money or goods to a local program. Together, we can create successful individuals and resilient communities through literacy.”
To learn more about the literacy programs available in B.C. communities, visit decoda.ca/communities.
– Submitted