The Dutch initiative in a nutshell

Stichting Lezen & Schrijven is an initiative of H.R.H. Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. The foundation was launched on 27 May 2004. Its objective is to devote attention to the 1.5 million Dutch citizens who, due to literacy related problems, are unable to participate fully within society. The foundation aims to stimulate discussion about this problem and to contribute to its alleviation. The approach is directed both at preventing and reducing low literacy.

Vision
Literacy is a basic requirement for a healthy and sustainable society. Each individual is entitled to the right to acquire good literacy skills.

Strategy
The strategy of the foundation lies in involving several specific target groups, such as:
• Children
• Companies
• Connecting organisations to the adult literacy education system
• Youngsters
• Parents
• Adults with low literacy skills
• Social organisations
• Educational organisations
• Government

The foundation places awareness-raising of low literacy in a central position in its work. With this strategy, the foundation is involved in preventing and reducing low literacy and thus increasing participation within society.

Prevention
The foundation ensures that strong emphasis is placed on prevention, for this is a necessary step towards a long-term reduction of low literacy. 10% of 15 year-olds leave school with low literacy skills. In terms of reading, 1/4 of eighthgrade pupils are two years behind on their development. This is unacceptable and unnecessary for a developed country such as the Netherlands. Therefore, it is essential to focus on language development at an early stage.
Target groups: children, youngsters, parents, educational organisations.

Reduction
In order to help reduce low literacy, the foundation places equal emphasis on the personal advantage gained from education (through adult education) and the economic profit for companies resulting from well-educated employees. It is extremely important to involve the direct environment (work as well as private) in the approach to low literacy.
Target groups: companies, connecting organisations to the adult literacy education system, adults with low literacy skills, educational organisations.

Participation
Our society experiences several fast changes. In order to enable people with low literacy skills to participate in daily life, it is important that companies, governments and social organisations take this group of people further into account. For instance, it would result in the realisation that most of the current information (websites, leaflets, letters to customers) is inaccessible to low literate people. The foundation unites organisations and experts in order to make information more accessible.Target groups: companies, adults with low literacy skills, social organisations, Government

Approach
The foundation’s policies are three-fold:

1. Marketplace
Idea: create support for a structural and sustainable approach to low literacy, in which many different actors are involved, co-operating beyond their boundaries and endorsing responsibilities.
Marketplace: develop a sustainable network
In order to tackle low literacy in a structural way, it is important that companies,
social organisations and governments combine their competences. Each organisation plays its own role from the moment it has agreed to go beyond its own boundaries.
The foundation offers a marketplace for sharing knowledge and experiences, thereby creating new and innovative initiatives. The marketplace results in a strong feeling of togetherness and shared responsibilities.

2. Communication
Idea: familiarise ourselves with the issue of low literacy and break the taboo associated with it.
Communication: structural focus
A structural approach to low literacy is only possible once the severity of the issue has  been acknowledged. The low literacy taboo needs to be broken because of the vicious circle related to it: if one does not talk about low literacy, those with reading and writing difficulties will consider themselves to be the only ones encountering problems, ultimately leading them to hide these problems. Communication remains central to the foundation’s activities. The foundation stimulates other organisations and individuals to publicise their discussions on low literacy matters. It is precisely this joint responsibility that the foundation wishes to reflect in its communication plans.

3. Project offensive
Idea: launch concrete projects which create a snowball effect and are endowed with a significant communicative value.
Offensive: create a snowball effect
The project offensive aims to stimulate companies and organisations in building joint projects, focused on a practical approach to low literacy. Given their great communicative and innovative character, the projects generate a considerable amount of attention and stimulate the involvement of new parties in the theme. Ultimately, the projects produce a snowball effect, enabling one to realise what does and does not work. The production and realisation of these action plans enable the foundation to place low literacy on the agenda of private and public organisations.

Literacy chain
The basic skills reading, writing and numeracy affect us all: young children, adolescents, parents, the actual low-literate adults, employers and society as a whole. The foundation is convinced that everyone shares the responsibility in solving low literacy. It is only when everybody feels truly and structurally responsible and acts accordingly, that the low literacy theme will become a priority and will continue to be a hot issue on the social, political and socialeconomic agendas. Departing from this conviction, the strategy of the foundation is aimed at involving as many traditional and new parties as possible in the wide and structural approach to low literacy. Parties which every individual will encounter during his life and which can therefore contribute to a durable solution and a literate society. This objective becomes evident in projects started by (and in collaboration with) Stichting Lezen & Schrijven.

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