Illiteracy is a taboo and the source of embarrassment for many. In France, 9% of the working population (18-65) are illiterate. This means nearly 3.1 million people who either are incapable of, or have problems performing everyday tasks such as dialing a phone number, obtaining cash from an ATM machine, or understanding things like a subway map, instructions for taking medicine, or a school report card.
The AREVA Foundation has been fighting for literacy since 2009, financing literacy programs for children and adults and also volunteer trainer programs.
The Foundation has just stepped up its actions by entering into a major new partnership with the French national literacy agency ( ANCLI - Agence Nationale de Lutte Contre l’Illettrisme), both to help children perform better academically and encourage the participation of parents who have trouble reading and writing.
It has also renewed its support for the Association for equal opportunities in education (APFEE - Association pour favoriser l'égalité des chances à l'école) and the volunteer link-up association Espace Bénévolat, with which it has been partnering since 2010. Through its booster clubs, APFEE provides assistance for first-graders with reading difficulties. The AREVA Foundation’s support over a two-year period will benefit some 500 children in France’s Manche, Gard, Vaucluse, Drôme and Rhône regions.
Espace Bénévolat will focus on training volunteers to tutor children and adolescents who are failing academically and to provide instruction for adults. The AREVA Foundation will also finance the production of a volunteer tutoring guidebook.