Talk about books
On World Book Day in March the world could vote for the best books to talk about this year. These are the Top Ten:
Boy A by Jonathan Trigell
Ishq and Mushq
by Priya Basil
Salt & Honey
by Candi Miller
Gods in Alabama
by Joshilyn Jackson
Speaking of Love
by Angela Young
Death of A Murderer
by Rupert Thomson
In Cold Daylight
by Pauline Rowson
Playing with the Moon
by Eliza Graham
Lint by Steve Aylett
Before I Die
by Jenny Downham
Bring to book
With an illiteracy level of 22 per cent the UK takes one of the pole positions among the industrialised nations together with the USA with 21 per cent, according to the Uno. It is only beaten by Poland (43%) and Ireland. Switzerland is not far behind with 19%, but Germany (14%), The Netherlands (11%) and Sweden (8%) do much better.
The UK is ranked 14th out of 20 countries when it comes to adults who read a book at least once a month. And Ofsted reported in May 2008 that the UK slipped from 7th position to 17th in reading skills.
The Leitch Report states in 2006 that out of 30 OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, the UK lies in 17th place regarding low skills.
Britain was once leading
In the 1970's technology changed the working world and as a result unskilled people lost their jobs; this was when functional illiteracy was acknowledged.
The UK was one of the first industrialized nations to start a campaign supported by the government which was followed by initiatives of voluntary groups, a Unesco paper reveals. It praises the BBC’s TV series ‘On the move’ as the “first and most impelling example of use of mass media in literacy programmes in industrialized countries on a national scale”. The fifty ten minute films about two lorry drivers addressing their reading problems helped to turn the literacy drive into a true national campaign, and to reach non readers, Unesco says.
Worldwide campaign launched
However, literacy efforts not only in Britain but in the whole world, at national and international levels, proved inadequate, according to Unesco. One if five adults worldwide cannot read or write. 774 million people are illiterate – i.e. about 13 per cent of the world’s population; most live in Asia , Africa and Latin America , but 200 million are functional illiterates in industrialized countries. Unesco published these figures in 2003. The organisation emphasised that such high levels are unacceptable in a modern world and that literacy is a human right. Therefore, it launched the United Nations Literacy Decade which aims to increase literacy levels.
The OECD is launching a new project to assess the knowledge and skills of adults. It’s called PIAAC, Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. It will focus on the cognitive and workplace skills needed for successful participation in today’s work environment. Data will be gathered on levels of literacy, there will be a field trial in 2010 and tests in 2011. PIAAC is designed to help governments in evaluating and designing education and training policies.
