Conferences serve many purposes for literacy workers. They provide important connections to others working in the field, specific professional development and a time for reflection. Perhaps best of all, Conferences provide the opportunity for people to join together in celebration of their literacy efforts.
In recognition of International Literacy Year and to launch the Literacy Decade, The 1990 Literacy Conference was held in Edmonton in mid-October. It was a celebration that will long be remembered.
The first person I ran into when I arrived in Edmonton for The Literacy Conference was Pat Fahy, my pilot of a few weeks ago. Pat was the Conference Chairperson and was finding his year of hard work beginning to payoff.
"Eight hundred and one delegates registered?" As a member of the Conference Committee, I was delighted with Pat's news. "That's 200 (and one!) more people than we expected. This is going to be great."
And it was great. For three days, the Edmonton Convention Centre and nearby hotels overflowed with literacy educators, researchers, volunteer tutors, students, concerned business people and government representatives, all gathered roger her to talk about literacy. At the same time that the delegates were presented with new ideas and challenges, they shared their experiences, celebrated their achievements, lamented their set-backs and made plans for the future.
I talked to CHERYL SANDERMAN-GERGATZ just after the Conference Opening Ceremonies. Watching a video of Paulo Freire speaking with a strong Portuguese accent about his vision of literacy and political empowerment in third world countries had been a difficult first session for her. "I didn't have a clue what he was talking about. I turned to the lady beside me and said, 'I think I should just resign now.' It wasn't a good feeling."
I understood Cheryl's frustration. When the Freire video was introduced, Carlos Torres, a student of Freire's work, described Paulo Freire as "a ball of fire." I felt I learned more from watching Freire's fiery spirit on the big screen than I did listening to what he was saying. MARNIE SCHAETTI, a literacy coordinator from southern Alberta, joined in our conversation and said, "For me, Freire's words created a kind of net - like the safety net that circus people walking a tight rope have underneath them. He provided a context or grounding for me. I often feel alone in the work I am doing in literacy but he made me realize it's happening everywhere and that there are people who have devoted their whole lives to the same work I am doing. He has thought about literacy a lot more than I have and his strong ideas and strong convictions reinformed me about why I'm doing the work I do."
Cheryl agreed that sometimes it's hard to see the bigger picture. "I was surprised when I came to the Conference to learn how many people are involved in the field of literacy - just in Alberta. Being new to the field and somewhat isolated in Barrhead, I didn't realize that I had joined such a large group of people who feel as strongly about the issue as I do!" Ready to call it a night, Cheryl went back to her hotel room to go over the choice of sessions for the next day.