On October 11, 2012, Literacy Connects’ Executive Director, Betty Stauffer, accepted an award on behalf of Literacy Connects and the Greater Tucson Area for the most signatures collected on the National Right to Literacy Scroll. The award was presented by the Literacy Powerline at the Literacy Funders Network 2012 Symposium and National Leadership Forum.
Literacy Connects collected over 1,400 signatures on the National Right to Literacy Scroll at the 2012 Tucson Festival of Books, surpassing hundreds of cities, including Washington D.C and Los Angeles, and setting a new national record! There was no official competition for how many signatures were collected in a city, but it is certainly exciting to be recognized as the “Beat the Record National Winner.”
The National Right to Literacy Scroll was created at the 2009 National Community Literacy Conference to support legislation and policy changes aimed at increasing literacy levels in the United States. Since then it has been signed by more than 50,000 people across the country at grassroots rallies, library events, city halls, literacy conferences, and town hall meetings.
This year marks the end of the UNESCO Decade of Literacy and UNESCO representatives attended last week’s event to receive the scroll and take it back to the United Nations.
Thanks to everyone who joined Literacy Connects at the 2012 Tucson Festival of Books and took the time to sign their name in support of a literate community, country and world. We look forward to seeing you again next March for the 2013 Tucson Festival of Books.
