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LITERACY GAP LITERACY GAP LITERACY LITERACY GAP GAP Words by TVV In association with UofAjournals
WHAT IS THE INDIGENOUS LITERACY GAP? Literacy is the quintessential human feature by which we navigate, interpret, and express ourselves on Earth. For a person—a child—to fall behind, or be rejected, from the shared literary and linguistic modes of Australian life is an obvious injustice. Access to education is a fundamental human right. The two most persuasive predictors of childhood literacy in Australia are the locale of the child (particularly, whether or not they are metropolitan or regional in residence), and whether or not the child is a member of First Nations. The 2019 NAPLAN test, for instance, found that just 36% of Indigenous students in very remote areas achieve the Australian national minimum reading standard. This compares to 96% for non-Indigenous students in major cities.
WHO ARE THE INDIGENOUS LITERACY FOUNDATION? The ILF is a national not-for-profit charity that helps close the literacy gap via three core programs that get delivered to over 400 remote communities across Australia and the Torres Strait Islands. Their first program is Book Supply, which tackles the fundamental lack of books and access to books in regional Australia. Books are attained through partnerships with publishers and independent organisations, as well as purchased (via the public) through cash donations. Since their inception, the ILF have supplied remote Australian communities with over half a million books, catering to infants, adults, and every age between.
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