We are Adult Literacy for Life
We believe everyone should have the literacy, numeracy and digital literacy to participate in society and succeed in life.
Why literacy?
Literacy touches every aspect of our lives and has a great influence on our well-being. It is more than reading and writing. It’s being able to understand, use and act on information. It involves listening, speaking and using everyday technology and the internet to communicate and handle information.
Literacy allows us to fully engage in society and be active citizens. It provides us with opportunities and is essential to developing an equal society. Literacy is a human right.
Literacy affects everyone.
In Ireland, more than 500,000 people have unmet literacy, numeracy and digital literacy needs. This means they may be unable to fill in a form, vote, read instructions on medicines, add up a bill, help kids with homework or search the web for information. This can negatively impact their confidence and prevent them from participating fully in society.
Most people with unmet literacy needs can read a little but may find it hard to understand certain types of information or deal with modern technology. Every day we are faced with increasingly complex literacy tasks to participate in daily life. Many of us will struggle with literacy-related issues at different times in our lives.
Literacy for all
We want to ensure that no one is excluded, isolated, or stigmatised because of unmet literacy, numeracy or digital literacy needs.
Our aim is to ensure everyone has the literacy to meet their needs, and that literacy is valued and supported at every level of society.
Adult Literacy for Life (ALL) is a 10 year, whole-of-government and society strategy dedicated to make this happen because literacy changes lives.
Get involved
Help us bridge the literacy gap
1. Talk about literacy
Talk about literacy with your friends and family and help to reduce the stigma. Some people feel embarrassed and hide their literacy needs from friends and family.
2. Raise awareness of local services
Currently in Ireland there are over 40,000 adults attending literacy courses nationwide. This service is provided by the Education Training Boards (ETB) Adult Literacy Service. The service is free and is a very different experience to school. Tutors work at a pace that suits the learner and their interests, and there are no exams. The National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA) also offers a service where you can learn with a tutor over the phone or online.
3. Become ‘literacy friendly’
Unmet literacy needs can often exclude people from carrying out a range of everyday activities or successfully interacting with public and private services. You can address this in your work by: being aware and taking account of literacy needs,
identifying and removing literacy-related barriers,
using plain English in your communications, and
providing literacy awareness training to staff.
Meet your local Adult Literacy for Life Coordinator
Contact us today to find out how we can work together to make sure that literacy is valued and supported at every level of society.