Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan describes literacy as a "bridge from misery to hope" and a "bulwark against poverty." Troublingly, though, one in five adults in the United States reads below the fifth grade level. And worldwide, nearly 800 million adults -- 2/3rds of them women -- cannot read or write a simple sentence, according to the UN. On today's Sound of Ideas we explore efforts to improve literacy in Northeast Ohio and beyond.
Guests:
Frechic Austin, Founder of From Lemons to Lemonade and Probation Officer in the City of East Cleveland
Candice Motley, University Hospitals Employee and Participant in University Hospitals' Bridge To Your Future program
Robert Paponetti, Executive Director, The Literacy Cooperative
Ann Kowal Smith, Executive Director, That Can Be Me, Inc. & Books@Work