To talk openly about illiteracy so as to be able to combat it better: that is the objective that the Prime Minister of France set on March 1 by officially declaring illiteracy as major national cause for campaigning in France for 2013 "grande cause nationale 2013".
In doing so, the Prime Minister has signaled the desire of the French government to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to acquire the fundamental skills necessary to have access to knowledge, culture and professional independence. He also undertakes to raise the French people's awareness of a problem that is not always well-understood and to break down the taboos that exist in many people's minds when talking about this phenomenon.
This major national cause for 2013 complements the action being taken by the AREVA Foundation along with its partners:
- The French National Agency Against Illiteracy (Agence Nationale de Lutte Contre l’Illettrisme – ANLCI)
- the Association Pour Favoriser l’Egalité des chances à l’Ecole (APFEE), an association for promoting equality of opportunity in schools
- Cœurs-à-lire, a network of 210 associations dedicated to the fight for literacy in the Ile-de-France region
- the Secours populaire français
Since 2009, the AREVA Foundation has been supporting several programms in the fight against illiteracy and preventive actions aimed at both children and adults.
A source of exclusion, illiteracy is an issue which affects people in all areas, of all ages and from all walks of life. In France today, there are 2,500,000 people, which corresponds to 7 % of the population from 18 to 65 years of age, who do not have basic literacy skills despite having been to school. Knowing how to read, write and count is essential to allow people to be self-sufficient in simple, everyday life situations: to dial a telephone number, withdraw money from an ATM, understand a map of the subway system, read the recommended dosage of a medicine, or a school report…