18 September 2006

White House Sponsors First International Literacy Conference

First lady announces $1 million contribution to UNESCO reading program

 

First Lady Laura Bush introduces her husband, President Bush, before his address to The White House Conference. (© AP Images)

By Judy Aita
Washington File Staff Writer

New York -- Welcoming representatives of more than 75 nations to the inaugural White House Conference on Global Literacy, U.S. first lady Laura Bush challenged governments to educate all people -- men, women and children, rich and poor -- and urged private-sector organizations to dedicate their resources to ending illiteracy.

Investment in education, she said, "no matter how significant, is always worthwhile, because investing in literacy and education helps governments meet their fundamental obligations by improving opportunities for children and families, by strengthening their economies and by keeping their citizens in good health."

The first lady announced a $1 million U.S. contribution to the Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Program (LAMP) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Through LAMP, many countries are working to determine which people in their country cannot read, where people live who cannot read and why people cannot read.  That information will help remove obstacles to reading, the first lady said.

The site of the conference -- the New York Public Library -- provided a moving testament to the power of reading.  The library, one of the greatest in the world, has books and artifacts spanning 5,000 years.  It has scholarly research collections and a network of community libraries.  Virtually all the library's many collections and services are free to all.  In fact, the library says on its Web site, it has "but one criterion for admission: curiosity."

Literacy, said Paul LeClerc, president of The New York Public Library, "is the greatest gift a government can give to its citizens."

From the personal experiences shared by conference leaders to the panelists who discussed programs in their countries, the emphasis was on the significance of simple gestures in helping others to read and the importance of instilling the value of education.  They all shared a commitment to the international fight to eradicate illiteracy, promote education and give children -- and, if necessary, adults -- a chance to read.

Laura Bush was accompanied by her daughter Barbara and her mother-in-law, former first lady Barbara Bush, who also made literacy her focus during her time in the White House.

"We represent three generations of women who love to read," the first lady said.  "Reading, in fact, is so important to us -- is such a part of our lives -- that our lives have been built around it.

"My mother loved to read and she taught me to love reading.  I liked reading so much that I made it into my career by becoming a teacher and a librarian," she said.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice also attended the conference, and spoke of the value her own grandfather had placed on education.  An African-American sharecropper in segregated Alabama at the beginning of the 20th century, her grandfather found a way to get a college education -- or "book learning," as he called it.

Her grandfather "passed that commitment on to his family through generations.  Our lives were transformed by education," Rice said.  "I have no doubt that education is the single greatest force for equality in the world."

The variety of successful literacy programs highlighted at this first session centered around three areas: mother-child literacy and intergenerational learning, literacy for health, and literacy for economic self-sufficiency.

Participants discussed nine programs that can serve as models for other communities and nations.

Panelists on the mother-child literacy program were Maria Diarra Keita, founding director of the Institute for Popular Education in Mali, Florence Molefe, facilitator of the Family Literacy Project in South Africa, and Perri Klass, president of the Reach Out and Read National Center in the United States.

Hasina Mojadidi, instructional development coordinator for Learning for Life in Afghanistan, Salah Sabri Sebeh, head of the Basic Education Sector of Caritas Egypt, and Gonzalo Fiorilo, director of ALFALIT, Bolivia, gave presentations on literacy for health.

Discussing literacy for economic self-sufficiency were Koumba Boly Barry, coordinator of the directorate for development and cooperation of the Program for Literacy and Training in Burkina Faso, C. Krishna Mohan Rao, deputy director of the directorate of adult education of the government of Andhra Pradesh in India, and Regina Celia Esteves de Siqueira, chief executive officer of ALFASOL in Brazil.

More than 200 first ladies and spouses, ministers of education, foundation representatives, library experts and nongovernmental organization representatives attended the half-day program.

For additional information on education initiatives, see Partnership for a Better Life.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)