The program for the 10th Illiteracy Forum was unveiled this Tuesday at the Crédit Mutuel “Enseignant” Local Fund in Nice. It will take place on Wednesday, September 11 starting at 1:30 p.m. at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. Jean-Luc Gagliolo, municipal councilor of the City of Nice delegated to combating illiteracy, and Nicolas Cérami, president of the Crédit Mutuel “Enseignant” Local Fund, were notably present.
It is estimated that illiteracy currently affects more than 7% of the French population. “I can testify as a teacher. I find that today some students entering sixth grade have real difficulties with writing and reading. I cannot provide statistics; it’s simply my feeling and my observations. I see difficulties emerging where there were none 20 years ago,” explains Jean-Luc Gagliolo.
This is an excellent reason to organize the 10th Illiteracy Forum in Nice in September. This is the first time that the initiative is relocated outside the Bouches-du-Rhône to take place at the MAMAC. This forum has also received the “National Days of Action Against Illiteracy” label to underline the importance of the mission incumbent upon actors fighting this scourge. This year, the writer from Nice, Didier Van Cauwelaert, becomes the new sponsor of the forum, succeeding Boris Cyrulnik in 2018. The official poster was created by a young student from Thiole School, Lou Lynn Cuomo, who manages to convey a simple yet powerful and current message.
During this 10th forum, many associations will come to share their experience and tools to combat illiteracy. The film Illettré, directed by Jean-Pierre Améris, will be screened on Tuesday, September 10 at the Variétés cinema (or at the Rialto). The journalist Jean-Pierre Tissier will host the event for the sixth time.
According to many specialists: “We speak of illiteracy for people who have been educated in France and have not acquired sufficient proficiency in reading, writing, arithmetic, and basic skills to be autonomous in simple everyday life situations“.
