Who We Are

Canadian Literacy and Learning Network (CLLN) is the national coalition advancing literacy and essential skills across Canada. CLLN, a non-profit charitable organization, represents literacy coalitions, organizations and individuals in every province and territory in Canada. We share knowledge, engage partners and stakeholders and build awareness to advance literacy and learning across Canada. We believe that literacy and learning should be valued – at home, in the workplace and in the community. Funded by—and working in consultation with—Human Resources and Skills Development Canada, we provide leadership, knowledge and expertise about literacy and essential skills, while developing partnerships with stakeholders across Canada.

The future we are working to create

CLLN has adopted the definition of literacy put forward by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO):

Literacy is:

“the ability to identify, understand, interpret, create, communicate, compute and use printed and written materials associated with varying contexts. Literacy involves a continuum of learning to enable an individual to achieve his or her goals, to develop his or her knowledge and potential, and to participate fully in the wider society.”

Among our core principles is the belief that individuals need literacy and essential skills to participate fully in social, cultural, economic and political life. We envision a Canada where literacy is a right, where life-long learning is valued, and where there are no barriers to learning. We are committed to working collaboratively with a wide range of partners and stakeholders and in being proactive in public policy development. We are of the opinion that literacy has broad social and economic implications on policy development across government departments, private and public stakeholders and partners. Further, we believe that a horizontal governance approach to the question of literacy is a model for success. We draw links between literacy and many public policy issues such as health, poverty, citizenship, justice, the Canadian work-force and Aboriginal success.