All Children Reading: An International Literacy Day Event
Learning to read is fundamental for success in school and life. Young children must acquire basic literacy skills that will serve them as they progress in their studies and in the working world. Yet in many developing countries, too few students are learning to read during the critical first years of school. Recent estimates indicate that the average child in a low-income country is learning at about the same level as a child in the fifth percentile of a high-income country.
On September 8, the Center for Universal Education at Brookings, the Education for All-Fast Track Initiative, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) marked International Literacy Day by hosting a series of discussions on how a range of education stakeholders are addressing the challenge of improving literacy, particularly at lower primary levels, to help fulfill the promise of quality education for all.
After each panel, participants took audience questions.
Agenda
9:30 AM -- Welcome
Richard Whelden
Director, Office of Education
Opening Remarks: Addressing Literacy Issues
Nita M. Lowey
Congresswoman (D-NY)
Rajiv Shah
Administrator - United States Agency for International Development
10:15 AM -- Session 1: Governments Taking Action
Luis Crouch
Chief Technical Officer, International Development Group - RTI International
Abel Fernandes de Assis
National Director for Quality Assurance Department, Ministry of Education
Ato Fuad Ibrahim
State Minister for General Education
Mator Kpangbai
Deputy Minister for Instruction, Ministry of Education
Guillermo Lopez
Director General, Primary Education, Ministry of Education
11:15 AM -- Session 2: Innovative Approaches to Advance Literacy
Karen Cator
Director, Office of Educational Technology - U.S. Department of Education
Anthony Bloome
Senior Education Technology Specialist - USAID
François Gérin-Lajoie
President
Cory Heyman
Chief Program Officer - Room to Read
Sakil Malik
Director of Global Operations
Jane Meyers
President
Debbi Winsten
Partner Relations Manager
1:15 PM -- Session 3: Thought Leadership for Strategies on Reading
Steven Klees
Professor, International Education Policy
Patrick Collins
Acting Head of Basic Education
ROBERT PROUTY
Head
2:45 PM -- Session 4: Practitioners Taking Action
John P. Comings, EdD
Principal International Technical Advisor
Amy Jo Dowd
Senior Education Research Advisor
Sylvia Linan-Thompson
Senior Education Research Analyst
Audrey-Marie Schuh Moore
EQUIP 2 Director
4:00 PM -- Closing Remarks
ROBERT PROUTY
Head
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