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2009 Global Action Week (CTF Report)

Emily Noble
February 2009

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Join millions around the world for The Big Read The Global Campaign for Education is calling for an exciting action on April 22, The Big Read, which we hope will unite  millions as did The World’s Biggest Lesson last year. Last year, our World’s Biggest Lesson was a resounding  success with more than 11,600 Canadians  joining  8.8 million campaigners across  the  world.  The Lesson is now officially recorded  in the Guinness Book of Records. As a member of the Canadian Global Campaign for Education, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation is proud to have played a pivotal role in the success of this worldwide initiative. On a personal note,  I  thoroughly enjoyed teaching the lesson at Carleton Heights Public School in Ottawa, along with Paul Dewar, a federal  MP who is a former teacher and ETFO member. The Biggest Lesson was the signature event of  Global  Action  Week,  which  is  organized annually to raise awareness that 75 million children are currently denied a quality  education, and 774 million adults remain illiterate. Despite some progress since last year’s campaign, these realities persist:

  • One in four women is unable to read and write.
  • An uneducated woman is 50 percent more likely to be infected with HIV/ AIDS.
  • An illiterate woman earns much less than one who can read and write.

So  important is literacy that  research has shown that in some countries children born to literate mothers are 50 per cent more likely to survive past the age of five. Furthermore adult literacy is key to achieving universal primary education as literate adults rarely raise illiterate children.  The Big  Read: Collective action Join us in this year’s Global Action Week April 20–26. The theme is “Youth and Adult Literacy and Lifelong Learning.” I personally invite you to join in The Big Read with other teachers in Canada. You can read stories from The Big Read book, add your own stories, and sign your name at the back of the book to ask the Canadian government to do more to ensure that everyone around the world is able to read and write. Your class can then forward these signatures to the Canadian Global Campaign for Education, which will in turn forward them to the Canadian government. To download the electronic version of The Big  Read  book  along  with  curriculum,  sup- porting resources, posters, and stickers, visit the Canadian Global Campaign for Education web site campaignforeducationcanada.org. Join us in reminding the federal government of its commitment to work toward Education for All goals by 2015. As teachers, you can help us make this year’s Global Action Week the best ever.