© UNESCO
The Seventh International Literacy Campaign (LitCam) Conference took place on 8 and 9 October 2012 in the context of the Frankfurt Book Fair. The theme of the international conference was ‘Literacy and Active Citizenship’. The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has been a partner of LitCam since its inception in 2006.
More than 75 participants from 20 countries took part in this year’s conference. Keynote speeches, strategic presentations, and practical examples from a range of political, social, and cultural contexts highlighted the importance of literacy for active participation in society. In her welcoming address, Ulrike Hanemann of UIL provided examples of international research findings on the positive effects of literacy on active citizenship and shared experiences from Latin America and Europe of the empowering and transforming nature of literacy.
The keynote speaker of the conference was Karen Margaret Sewell, former Secretary of Education at the New Zealand Ministry of Education. She shared her experience of the recent holistic education reform in New Zealand, which emphasizes citizenship and lifelong learning. New Zealand, as Guest of Honour at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair, was the focus of much attention throughout the conference, while participants from Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, India, Turkey, Tunisia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland also shared their knowledge through workshops, etc.
The debates revolved around questions of:
- the influence of literacy on democratic movements;
- the importance of integrating principles of citizenship in education systems; and
- the role of literacy, language, culture and empowerment.
For more detailed information on the event please visit LitCam’s website at http://www.litcam.org/. Some of the experiences presented at the conference will also be available on UIL’s Effective Literacy Practices Website (LitBase) at http://www.unesco.org/uil/litbase in the near future.
