“Literacy unlocks the door to learning throughout life,
is essential to
development and health,
and opens the way for democratic participation
and active citizenship.”
-Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General
-Kofi Annan, former United Nations Secretary-General
The United Nations has actually produced some staggering statistics on how literacy, or it's lack thereof, can affect a country and it's people. For example, no country has ever has ever achieved rapid and continuous economic growth without at least a 40% literacy rate. Or that a child born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive past the age of five (http://www.canadianfeedthechildren.ca/what/education). It's clear it is the key to overcoming poverty, improving life expectancies and increasing all areas of well-being. It's also clear a lack of resources is one of the biggest obstacles in increasing literacy rates around the world.
Photo courtesy of http://quoteimg.com/want-to-wage-war-against-illiteracy-poverty-unemployment-unfair/
So how to go about it? Leftovers from our libraries? Book drives? Sending Kindles? Dropping laptops? I was quite amazed while researching to find a profusion of organizations who specialized in getting materials into the hands of children in developing countries. From Room to Read, the African Library Project, The International Book Project to Worldreader the opportunities for those who want to contribute are abundant. But how to choose who and what to support?
Several important factors stood out to me about the different approaches these organizations encompass. First, I was pleased with the fairly stringent guidelines most provided for book donations. But I was more impressed by groups like Room to Read that went the step beyond and had established local publishing facilities for local authors in native languages. While our Western English books serve their purpose and are well-needed, imagine seeing your own language in writing for the very first time! And anything that improves the local economy and community whilst increasing literacy seems like a home run.
Then I recalled seeing a tweet from the Digital Shift last week about a library with no books in Haiti (click here for article.) A woman had been doing volunteer work in Haiti and discovered there were virtually no books in most schools. A few schools had progressed to e-books but had very few for hundreds of children to share. So she began Library for All which is essentially a cloud based digital library. Again the opportunity to provide students with reading material in their own language was a priority and the increased access this approach provides is invaluable.
But do devices have a place in libraries either here or in developing worlds? I think it's hard to deny their existence and contribution to education here in Canada. Anyone who's used an ipad with a student with special needs or even used Bookflix (on any device!) can attest that mobile technology is now a part of our culture whether we like or not and can be a valuable learning tool.
Does this mean technology devices are the best means of improving literacy, education or even quality of life for developing countries? It most certainly increases access to reading material. It increases access to all different kinds of information. It can improve the quality and content of resources needed in various parts of the world. But it certainly cannot replace qualified, trained teachers who are also desperately needed around the world. Despite the intuitive nature of children, technology and devices, both here AND in developing countries need guidance on how, when and why we use them.
"In 2011 report to the United Nations Human Rights Council by the Special
Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression declared Internet access to be a
fundamental enabler of human rights,"
(http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Global-Libraries) .
References:
http://www.roomtoread.org/Welcome
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do/Global-Development/Global-Libraries
http://www.canadianfeedthechildren.ca/what/education
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Making-a-difference/Change-Agent/2015/0217/In-Haiti-a-library-with-no-books-transforms-the-way-kids-learn
https://www.africanlibraryproject.org
http://www.worldreader.org/
http://bctf.ca/bctla/pub/bookmark/2009winterBookmark.pdf
http://www.intlbookproject.org/
Excellent post full of great links, examples and strong discussion about the issues. You raise many important questions, concerns and cautions and I appreciate the continued support of trained teachers trying to help others. We can resource our students, but that does not impart wisdom, we also need teachers to guide and support students all over the globe. Thanks for sharing all these great links to wonderful programs.
ReplyDeleteThere is always that risk of giving students technology and not teaching critical literacy skills. It's a major problem in developed countries and will certainly transfer into developing countries. There might be such a focus on simply providing the technology and access to reading material that everything else becomes secondary but there needs to be a balance. Hopefully once access to reading material improves teachers can spend their energy helping students navigate the vastness of the internet.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing about Room to Read, it is great that they are working locally to publish materials that are authentic to the intended audience. This is one of the best ways we can help developing nations and their libraries!
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the great links you shared. Your point is important. Technology can't just be provided. There has to be a balance. Trained teachers need to be there support and guide students globally to ensure the most positive results.
ReplyDelete