I picked Argentina.
Turns out most Argentinian libraries don’t have English on their websites… so, back to square one, or perhaps a whole new plan.
On my internet travels for plan B, I came across LWB, Librarians Without Borders. Now, we’ve all heard of Doctors Without Borders, but who knew there were librarians doing the literacy equivalent.
To give a little bit of information, I’ve pulled the LWB mission statement from their website. “Librarians Without Borders (LWB) is a non-profit organization that strives to improve access to information resources regardless of language, geography, or religion, by forming partnerships with community organizations in developing regions.”
BINGO!
The biggest challenge often faced by libraries in developing nations is the access to information inequity. Access to information is important for “supporting learning and literacy, reducing poverty, empowering citizens, and building healthy, strong communities.” Nations like Ghana do not have the same access to information as Canada or the USA. So how can we level the playing field and make information accessible? How do we make information accessible to those in nations where the literacy rates are sometimes less than 50%!? These were questions I pondered while reading through various programs, and organizations in Ghana through LWB.
My first literacy program I came across with the goal of creating access to literacy was WorldReader. WorldReader is an organization that gives free e readers, and mobile phones to children and families to improve lives through learning and empowerment. WorldReader builds a reading program library designed for the specific region (even trying to use local authors and stories), then distributes the appropriate technology to access the library, and finally supporting the communities with training. They create reading communities where education is valued and can be transformative to the people.
I’m going to switch gears for a minute and have you think about the apps and saved content on your mobile phone. How easy is it for you to access information, any information?
Pretty easy right?
Seeing that you can access any piece of information, what matters to you as a person? Election results? Weather? School access?
How does your life change if you no longer have access to these things?
People in developing nations may not understand the politics, geographics, educational problems facing them due to lack of knowledge. Allowing technology such as mobile devices opens the door for people to become aware, become educated, and become advocates for changes.
In a study done of 7 developing countries where access to mobile phones is available, it showed that 30% read stories to their children daily, and men and women read more cumulatively when they read on a mobile device, among many other finds that promote mobile reading. The cost of a mobile “book” costs about 2 cents, whereas a paperback book costs $10. In countries where the population economically wealthy, this point alone makes the mobile devices preferred.
Below is an interview with Mark West with UNESCO on a report done on Mobile Reading
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gOtpCIl-Ng
In summary, with access to technology people can become educated, empowered and independent thinkers! Giving access to books and reading materials allow people to develop a reading culture, and share their learning, hopefully allowing for the creation of reading communities. Mobile devices increase resources for teachers, materials for students, and knowledge for all.
References
Worldreader.Org, https://www.worldreader.org/.
"UNESCO Study Shows Effectiveness Of Mobile Phones In Promoting Reading And Literacy In Developing Countries". UNESCO, 2014, https://en.unesco.org/news/unesco-study-shows-effectiveness-mobile-phones-promoting-reading-and-literacy-developing-0.
"Topic: Mobile Internet Usage Worldwide". Statista, 2020, https://www.statista.com/topics/779/mobile-internet/.
"Librarians Without Borders". Librarians Without Borders, https://lwb-online.org/.
Reading In The Mobile Era. 2014, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gOtpCIl-Ng. Accessed 1 Nov 2020.
You share some good initiatives that are working to support global literacy and access to information. I appreciate your narrative style and the way in which you shared your research process. I agree with your statements about how increased access to information can be transformative. For your next posts, you may want to consider Including hyperlinks to your sources in your works cited. These help your reader navigate to your sources easier.
ReplyDeleteLuisa T.
ReplyDeleteHi Carissa, I enjoyed reading your post and learning about Librarians Without Borders. I even found a site where people like us can volunteer and join- pre-covid- and travel to Guatemala to support growing libraries there. You can check it out here, there is a video as well: https://lwb-online.org/call-for-volunteers-guatemala-2018-service-trip/
It is interesting and enlightening to learn that in developing countries, mobile phones hugely increase the amount of reading time that kids receive from their parents. Yes, it makes sense of course, but it is something that I never considered. It makes me sad that these kids do not always get to hold a book in their hands though. There is something magical about being a child and holding your favourite books, bringing them to places you go...
Thank you for sharing the video, Reading in the mobile era- I actually used the UNESCO article of the same title, in my blog post for this topic, but I did not realize that there was this video as well.
Luisa T.
Hi Carissa,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate how you have shared your process on this topic and located the LWB. Thank you for sharing the Worldreader and it is great that they are building a reading program that can be transformative to people where it was not possible. About the interview with Mark West, helpful to know the diverse perspectives about accessibility to reading resources.
LIBE 477
ReplyDeleteCarissa,
I saw the librarians without borders as well during my surfing. I'm beginning to see how much our day to day heavily relies on technology and easy access to it. When your basic needs are met: clean drinking water, nutritious meals, clothing, and a soft place to land, it seems like devices and wi-fi are becoming developed countries' basic needs, which of course, is not equitable. You said that technology users feel "empowered" and that really resonates with all of us educators as it is most of our main missions for our learners.
World Reader sounds like great organization! That's really exciting that they are providing mobile devices to help improve literacy. I completely agree that technology is a great tool for getting books to all. Hopefully we can make this a reality all over the world. It seems like there are some great organizations out there providing books and technology for books. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete