(519) 316-0059 [email protected]

Where Imagination Takes Root
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 17, 2013
Media Contact:
Sonya White, Richard Clewes
(519) 316-0059
[email protected]
[email protected]
CANADIAN – CREATED ANNUAL BOOK FESTIVAL TO CULTIVATE LITERACY
IN NINE CARIBBEAN NATIONS.
“For its capacity to broaden our horizons, use our imaginations, think creatively,
understand ourselves and others better, and feel engaged as citizens in the world –
reading… must be a vital component of what we encourage in our schools.”
People for Education (2011) Reading for Joy
“For individuals, families, and societies alike, literacy is an instrument of empowerment
to improve one’s health, one’s income, and one’s relationship with the world.” UNESCO
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------TORONTO - On September 30th, RAINFOREST OF READING®, a book festival
featuring 12 award-winning children’s books from Canada, will plant its roots in schools
throughout the Eastern Caribbean starting in Saint Lucia and Grenada. The three-week
event will engage 4,000 Grade 3 students in over 100 primary schools. It is the largest
literacy initiative ever undertaken in a region still reeling from infrastructure damage
caused by Hurricane Ivan (2006) and Hurricane Tomas (2010) and the economic impact
of a global recession.
“The need for this project couldn’t come at a better time” said Michael Willius, Consul
General of Saint Lucia in Canada. “There is no educational priority greater than literacy;
we’re very excited” said Jenny Gumbs, Consul General of Grenada in Canada.
In May 2013, UNESCO Institute for Statistics reported a “significantly lower youth
literacy (aged 15-24) rate in the Caribbean sub-region, which was 82% in 2011” – even
less than its previous measure of 87% in 2000.
The festival grew from the experience of Sonya White, a special education teacher in
Guelph and her husband, Richard Clewes, who collected over 13 tons of books (about
130,000 titles) this year for Caribbean schools through their charity, OneWorld
Schoolhouse Foundation.
The goal of RAINFOREST OF READING®, according to the couple, is to transform lives
through the acquisition of tools that build lifelong learning. The festival’s theme –
“Books can take you places you've never been before. Imagine That!” – was inspired by
UNESCO’s Literacy Decade. Festival organizers plan to add seven member countries
from the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) over the next 4 years.
This year’s nominees include Richardo Keens-Douglas, a Grenadian-Canadian and
author of The Nutmeg Princess. Nominees were selected by local Ministry of Education
literacy co-ordinators from a list of 250 Canadian children’s books. The 12 finalists are:
• “Bee Yourself” by Kerry Sather. Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing
• “Crazy about Soccer” by Loris Lesynski. Annick Press
• “Ella’s Umbrellas” by Jennifer Lloyd. Simply Read Books
• “Gift days” by Kari-Lynn Winters. Fitzhenry & Whiteside
• “Jack the Bear” by Christina Leist. Simply Read Books
• “Look at that Building!” by Scot Ritchie. Kids Can Press
• “Pussycat, Pussycat, Where Have You Been?” by Dan Bar-el. Simply Read Books
• “Stanley’s Little Sister” by Linda Bailey. Kids Can Press
• “The Matatu” by Eric Walters. Orca Book Publishers
• “The Nutmeg Princess” by Richardo Keens-Douglas. Annick Press
•” Today, Maybe” by Dominique Demers and Gabrielle Grimard. Orca Book Publishers
• “Wishes” by Jean Little. North Winds Press
To recognize their journey through the RAINFOREST OF READING® students have
“Passports” authorized by their teachers using an animal sticker for each title. “Since oral
language is the foundation of literacy, the Passports have guiding questions to generate
discussions for each story” said Sonya White, Co-Executive Director of OneWorld
Schoolhouse Foundation and festival director. “We’ve also reserved space in the
passports for students to collect autographs from their favourite authors.”
The festival culminates in a national assembly of all Grade 3 students in Castries, St.
Lucia and St. George’s, Grenada this October where reading experiences will be
celebrated through author visits, music, games and literacy-based activities. The winner
of the RAINFOREST OF READING® Award will also be announced.
“It may sound like a simple strategy but the collective imagination of the kids themselves
has the power to turn around a decade of declining literacy rates. Engaging young
readers today increases the likelihood that they will become lifelong readers and support
dynamic communities” said Richard Clewes, Co-Executive Director of OneWorld
Schoolhouse Foundation. The festival ends in October after which, books become the
property of school and community libraries.
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ABOUT RAINFOREST OF READING®
The RAINFOREST OF READING® Festival was created by OneWorld Schoolhouse
Foundation in co-operation with the Saint Lucia Ministry of Education, Human
Resource Development & Labour and the Grenada Ministry of Education & Human
Resource Development. The festival was inspired by the Ontario Library Association
(OLA) whose FOREST OF READING® program has been cultivating lifelong readers in
Ontario schools for over 2o years.
OneWorld Schoolhouse Foundation is a registered Canadian Charity (#825358484
RR0001) founded by Sonya White, a special education teacher and her husband, Richard
Clewes, a graphic designer/writer. The foundation also collects used textbooks and
storybooks from schools in Ontario for re-distribution in the Eastern Caribbean. As of
August 2013, over 13 tons (about 130,000 individual books) have been received by
schools in Saint Lucia and Grenada.
The animals in the RAINFOREST OF READING® were created by Carolyn Gavin whose
whimsical, book-reading birds are the magical vitality of the festival’s posters and
passports. Carolyn, with brother Mark Gavin, are principals at ECOJOT, an
environmentally-sustainable paper stationery company based in Toronto.
RAINFOREST OF READING® SUPPORTERS (Non-financial)
Ministry of Education, Grenada; Ministry of Education, Saint Lucia; The Consulate
General of Saint Lucia, Toronto; The Consulate General of Grenada, Toronto; OneWorld
Schoolhouse Foundation; Ontario Library Association; Ecojot Inc.
RAINFOREST OF READING® SUPPORTERS (Financial)
Blue Waters Products Ltd. (Trinidad); Courts; LIME (Cable & Wireless Grenada); M & C
Group of Companies Ltd.; RBC Financial (Caribbean); West Indies Shipping.
ABOUT THE ORGANIZATION OF EASTERN CARIBBEAN STATES (OECS)
OECS is an inter-governmental organization dedicated to economic harmonization and
integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good
governance. Its current members are: Antigua & Barbuda; Dominica; Grenada;
Montserrat; Saint Kitts & Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent & The Grenadines; Anguilla;
British Virgin Islands. At present, the total number of students enrolled in OECS schools
is 126,000 (est.).
ABOUT LITERACY IN THE CARIBBEAN
• “Statistical Tables” Table 1 Adult (aged 15+) literacy rate and gender parity by Region
1990-2015, Male/Female literacy in the Caribbean sub-region dropped from 72.5% in
2000 to 69.0% in 2011.
SOURCE: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, May 2013.
• “Statistical Tables” Table 3 Youth (aged 15-24) literacy rate and gender parity by
Region 1990-2015, Male/Female literacy in the Caribbean sub-region dropped from
86.7% in 2000 to 81.5% in 2011.
SOURCE: UNESCO Institute for Statistics, May 2013.
CONTACT INFO
OneWorld Schoolhouse Foundation
40 Woodland Court Caledon, ON L7K 0C2
Tel.: (519) 316-0059
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: oneworldschoolhouse.org