agosto 19, 2019

La Biblioteca del Congreso anuncia a los ganadores de los Premios de Literacidad 2019

La Biblioteca del Congreso anuncia a los ganadores de los Premios de Literacidad 2019. Los principales honores otorgados a ProLiteracy Worldwide, American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults y ConTextos.

res organizaciones que trabajan para expandir la literacidad y promover la lectura en los Estados Unidos y en todo el mundo recibirán los Premios de Literacidad de la Biblioteca del Congreso 2019 en la gala del Festival Nacional del Libro, anunció hoy la bibliotecaria del Congreso Carla Hayden.

Hayden y el filántropo David M. Rubenstein otorgarán los principales premios a: ‘ProLiteracy Worldwide’ de Syracuse, Nueva York; ‘Fondo de Acción Estadounidense para Niños y Adultos Ciegos’ de Baltimore; y ‘ConTextos’ de Chicago.

Los Premios de Literacidad, creados por Rubenstein en 2013, honran a las organizaciones que realizan un trabajo ejemplar, innovador y replicable. Destacan la necesidad de que las comunidades de todo el mundo se unan para trabajar por la literacidad universal.

“La literacidad es el boleto para el aprendizaje, las oportunidades y el empoderamiento a escala global”, dijo la Bibliotecaria del Congreso Carla Hayden. "A través de la generosidad de David M. Rubenstein, la Biblioteca del Congreso se enorgullece de honrar y celebrar los logros de estas organizaciones extraordinarias en sus esfuerzos por avanzar en los niveles de lectura y brindar a las personas las bases para una vida mejor".

Premios y destinatarios

Premio David M. Rubenstein ($ 150,000): ProLiteracy Worldwide, Syracuse, Nueva York
ProLiteracy Worldwide avanza y apoya programas para ayudar a los adultos a adquirir las habilidades de literacidad necesarias para funcionar de manera más efectiva en su vida diaria. Tiene 1,000 miembros de programas en 50 estados y trabaja con 30 socios en 25 países para brindar una amplia gama de servicios de alfabetización de adultos y educación básica a poblaciones vulnerables. ProLiteracy crea capacidad entre los proveedores de alfabetización de primera línea al modelar enfoques de instrucción

American Prize ($50,000): American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults, Baltimore
Central to the organization’s work has been a commitment to braille literacy and the knowledge that braille is the only true means for literacy for the blind.

International Prize ($50,000): ConTextos, Chicago ConTextos brings literacy to schools, prisons and communities in El Salvador via two programs: Soy Lector (I’m a Reader) and Soy Autor (I’m an author). The Soy Lector Program trains local community members and teachers to develop libraries to encourage reading and the discussion of ideas in the community and schools. The Soy Autor Program encourages youth affected by violence to write their memoirs. Through this writing exercise, they work through the effect that violence has had on their life, either as a victim or perpetrator. In the process, participants develop critical literacy skills. The program has been replicated in Guatemala and Honduras and continues to grow. To date, ConTextos has created 84 libraries across El Salvador; 11,092 students have access to high- quality books; and 853 young authors have published their memoirs.

Established in 1919, the American Action Fund for Blind Children and Adults is a service agency that assists blind and deaf-blind persons in securing reading matter, educates the public about blindness, provides specialized aids and appliances to the blind, gives consultation to governmental and private agencies serving the blind, offers assistance to those losing vision in their later years, offers services to blind children and their parents, and works toward improving the quality of life for the blind and deaf-blind. This includes services such as free braille books, free braille calendars and free white canes.

The Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program is also honoring 15 organizations for their implementation of best practices in literacy promotion. These best practice honorees are:
• Bring Me a Book, Redwood City, California
• The Conscious Connect, Springfield, Ohio
• Friends of Matènwa, Cambridge, Massachusetts
• Hartford Public Library, Hartford, Connecticut
• The Jane Stern Dorado Community Library, Dorado, Puerto Rico
• Literacy for Incarcerated Teens, New York City
• LitWorld International Inc., New York City
• Meridian Library District, Meridian, Idaho
• Nal’ibali Trust, Cape Town, South Africa
• One World Education, Washington, D.C.
• The PEN/Faulkner Foundation, Washington, D.C.
• Razia’s Ray of Hope, Wellesley, Massachusetts
• Ready for Reading, Dorset, Vermont
• Riecken Community Libraries, Washington, D.C.
• Western Massachusetts Writing Project, Amherst, Massachusetts

David M. Rubenstein is the co-founder and co-executive chairman of The Carlyle Group. He is a major benefactor of the Library of Congress and the chairman of the Library’s lead donor group, the James Madison Council. More information on the awards is available at read.gov/literacyawards.

The Library of Congress is the world’s largest library, offering access to the
creative record of the United States — and extensive materials from around the world — both on-site and online. It is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office. Explore collections, reference services and other programs and plan a visit at loc.gov; access the official site for U.S. federal legislative information at congress.gov; and register creative works of authorship at copyright.gov.