Fact Sheet

International Literacy Day (ILD)
Founded by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Literacy Day is observed annually on September 8 and focuses attention on worldwide literacy needs. More than 780 million of the world’s adults (nearly two-thirds of whom are women) do not know how to read or write, and between 94 and 115 million children lack access to education. On ILD, individuals, organizations, and countries throughout the world renew efforts to promote literacy and demonstrate their commitment to providing education for all.

International Reading Association International Literacy Day Event
Debut of the Reading Across Continents project
September 8, 2008; 10:00 a.m.; Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library
901 G Street NW, Washington, DC  (Gallery Place Chinatown Metro)
Space is limited: RSVP to irawash@reading.org
Press check-in required at September 8th event.

Reading Across Continents (RAC) Project Description
Through shared reading of novels, RAC unites Washington, D.C.’s School Without Walls High School (SWW) students with their counterparts in secondary schools in Abuja, Nigeria and Accra, Ghana. Via live feeds, author visits, student/teacher exchanges, blogs, email —  and the study of history, geography, and economy of the countries involved —  participants will reflect on their lives, insights and beliefs. Teens and teachers will make a three-week citizen exchange to interact with their overseas counterparts.

Documentary
The Oracle Group will interview and film students in D.C., Abuja, and Accra for a documentary on the whole process. Students will share how this literacy activity has affected their cultural understandings — and how it has affected their attitudes toward reading and literature. 

Facilitator’s Guide
Teachers and librarians are jointly planning the curriculum and developing a training manual/facilitators’ guide for use in Nigeria and Ghana — and for use on future opportunities modeling aspects of this pilot project.

Authors
Ama Ata Aidoo, Ghanaian author and playwright
Sharon M. Draper, U.S. author
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nigerian author

Authors’ Seminars
All authors will meet participating students via video conferencing. Book talks will be simulcast live to the students in Abuja, Nigeria; Accra, Ghana; and Washington, D.C. allowing the students to interact with the authors in real time. 

Calendar
Classroom instruction begins January 2009. Author visits and exchanges will begin November 2009. Each author visit will be videocast to each locale. The project culminates with a screening of the documentary at a future IRA conference. The documentary film will be aired on PBS, Nigerian Television Association, Ghana Television, online, and in the Washington,
D.C. area.

Contact Information
Project Cordinator:mocha@readingacrosscontinents.com;
Reading Across Continents website: www.readingacrosscontinents.com;
IRA website: http://www.reading.org/