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News
| ILN News Release
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Dr.
Donna Ogle, President of the International Reading Association,
said "The problem persists despite the dedicated effort of
tens of thousands of professional teachers and volunteer tutors.
We believe the reason is threefold: First, the attack on the problem
has been splintered, under-funded and has lacked sustained focus.
Second, the public is woefully unaware of the problem and the very
serious impact it has on our well-being as a society. Third, we
have lacked a comprehensive, easily accessible database on literacy.
Today, on the thirty-fifth annual International Literacy Day, we
announce a program to overcome those obstacles."  ILN Brings Together 21 Organizations Ron Pugsley said that the ILN is a newly formed consortium of twenty-one organizations with core interests in promoting literacy. The members include teacher groups such as the International Reading Association; United Nations components such as UNESCO and UNICEF; U.S. government agencies such as the U.S. Department of Education and USAID; international development units such as the World Bank; and Verizon Communications, which has taken on literacy as a corporate cause. "Bringing these organizations together will vastly strengthen the battle for literacy," Pugsley said. "Our efforts will be more additive and complementary than in the past. One major result of the concerted approach is the public awareness campaign that we launch here today." Public Service Announcements Key Campaign Earlier this year, Dr. Donna Ogle said, the ILN commissioned nVision, a New York-based communications agency, to design a public awareness campaign on the deleterious effects of low literacy. The intent of the campaign is to make the U.S. public and its lawmakers and administrators aware of the serious impact of low levels of literacy on families, workplaces and the community to encourage greater efforts to promote literacy. The launch of this campaign is being underwritten by Verizon Communications. Michael Magnani, President & CEO of nVision, showed the first three public service announcements developed for the campaign and urged the broadcast media to give them air time as its contribution to ending illiteracy. "We went for edginess in these PSAs," Magnani said, "because the American public as well as government and businesses need to wake up to the fact that low literacy levels are draining the vitality of our society and economy." Print versions of the PSAs, also carrying the "Get Ready for Life" campaign theme have been developed and are ready to run, Magnani added. Another major piece of the campaign, he said, is an ILN website which offers an array of up-to-date information, resources and also provides links to the websites of all the member organizations. Verizon, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Labor and NIFL Support Database Today,
ILN members Verizon, the National Institute for Literacy (NIFL)
, the U.S. Department of Education, as well as the U.S. Department
of Labor launched America's Literacy Directory (www.literacydirectory.org),
an Internet-based directory of literacy programs available in every
state and territory.
World's Largest Wing Chair, WNBA Star, Between the Lions Puppet Join Cause Several organizations and individuals joined with the ILN at today's event to help focus attention on the problem of illiteracy and its solutions. Solutia Inc., the makers of Wear-Dated® upholstery fabrics, donated a giant, custom-made, nine-foot-tall wing chair -- aptly named the Wear-Dated® wing chair -- to visually demonstrate the positive magnitude of the ILN's shared, worldwide mission and its new campaign. Sheryl Swoopes, star forward of the WNBA Houston Comets, took a seat in the massive wing chair to express her support for the new campaign. Mother of a four-year-old son, Swoopes stressed the importance of reading to young children. Today she read to a group of Washington school children gathered in and around the giant chair to also reinforce the fun of reading, looking much like a kid herself in its giant frame. Then, to stress the fact that the campaign focuses on adults as well as children, she introduced Sandra Johnson, a 37-year-old high-school dropout who learned to read as an adult. "For years I hid my reading problem from everyone, even my family," Johnson told the assemblage. "At the hospital where I worked as a housekeeper, I couldn't read the schedule, so I figured out my assignments by asking other people about their schedules. When I had to go to the doctor, I would put a brace on my wrist, claim I couldn't write because of it, and get someone else to fill out the forms." Johnson finally enrolled in a course run by the Washington Literacy Council and went three times a week for three years. Now she goes to GED courses four times a week. She often speaks to teacher groups about her experiences in school and the methods that worked for her in learning to read. Also at the event to support the campaign was Theo, the star of the Emmy Award-winning PBS Kids show Between the Lions. The program has received a rare endorsement from the National Education Association, as well as documented proof from a University of Kansas study, that shows it successfully helps children learn how to read. Theo, a librarian himself, chatted with Sheryl Swoopes about the problem of illiteracy, the importance of reading, and the role libraries play in encouraging literacy. UNESCO's IRA Literacy Award to Go to New Zealand Group Today's program concluded with an announcement about the upcoming UNESCO 2001 International Reading Association Literacy Award, being given to Workbase, the National Center for Workplace Literacy and Language in New Zealand. New Zealand's Ambassador, the Right Honorable James Bolger, commented on behalf of Workbase which will be commended for promoting the need for, and benefits of, better work force literacy, and for providing information and advisory services on best practice work force delivery, including policy input to government. Smithsonian Institution Offers Added Events The Smithsonian Institution also offered additional activities related to International Literacy Day, including a story-telling event at the Hirshhorn Museum and a creative writing activity at the National Museum of African Art.
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