6th Pan-African Reading for All Conference in Tanzania

(August 2009) The 6th Pan-African Reading for All Conference is taking place 10–14 August 2009 at the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania. It is organized by the International Reading Association’s International Development Committee in Africa in collaboration with the Reading Association of Tanzania and the Children’s Book Project for Tanzania. The theme of the conference is "Literacy for Community-Based Socio-Economic Transformation and Development."

SIL literacy and education specialists are presenting six papers, conducting one workshop and presenting one poster session during the conference. SIL representatives have attended previous Pan-African Reading for All conferences and presented papers about various topics related to reading in Africa, especially about reading in the mother tongue.

Presentations by SIL personnel

  • Margaret Beckett: (Workshop) "Maendeleo ya mradi wa Kirangi, wasomaji wapya na jinsi É" ("Progress in the Rangi project for new readers: uilding a bridge into Kiswahili literacy")
  • Ian Cheffy: (Paper) "Conceptions of literacy: People and programmes in Cameroon"
  • Barbara Graham: (Paper) "Literacy and linguistic diversity in multilingual classrooms"
  • JeDene Reeder: (Paper) "Capacity building in local literacy associations"
  • Leila Schroeder: (Paper) "Primer software developed for Bantu literacy materials"
  • Barbara Trudell: (Paper) "When Prof speaks, who listens? The impact of the African elite on literacy, education and development in African communities"
  • Agatha van Ginkel: (Paper) "What if literate people have trouble reading their mother tongue? Transfer reading from the LWC to the L1"
  • Brigitte Niederseer: (Poster) "Tutathmini Lugha Zetu: Mother-tongue literacy in multi-language project—family literacy"


The conference brings together an international network of literacy professionals, researchers and policy makers committed to fostering literacy and a reading culture for sustainable socio-economic transformation.

Participants share their experiences in literacy and reading promotion initiatives and practices from different countries. They present, examine, analyze and seek ways to surmount the various challenges that prevent successful transmission of literacy through formal and non-formal systems of education.

Conference Themes

  • Literacy for community-based socio-economic transformation and development
  • Literacy for educational development
  • Literacy and the promotion of cultural heritage
  • Literacy and health care
  • Literacy and good governance
  • Partnerships for literacy development


Many of these themes relate to the importance of literacy as a tool for achieving the Millennium Development Goals adopted by United Nations member nations in 2000.

children in classroomThe conference provides a platform for policy makers in government and the donor community to interface with literacy professionals at all levels. It also gives researchers the opportunity to share vital knowledge and information on appropriate methods and strategies for delivering literacy and reading skills to the community at the grass roots level.



Related links of interest