About Us

About Us

WHO WE ARE

We're the World Literacy Foundation

We envision a world in which every one of us can read and write, in which there is free access to education for all.

The World Literacy Foundation is a global a non-profit organization striving to ensure that every child regardless of geographic location has the opportunity to acquire literacy skills and books to reach their full potential – succeeding at school and beyond.

What We Do

We're Changing Children’s Lives Through Literacy

About World Literacy Foundation

We provide children with books and educational resources, so they can discover the joy of reading.

About World Literacy Foundation

We bring literacy support to disadvantaged children who are struggling to read and write.

About World Literacy Foundation

We gather global literacy leaders and organizations to share ideas and collaborate within the sector.

About World Literacy Foundation 7

We bring together innovative technology, e-books, and digital activities to advance the learning of children in remote communities in their mother tongue and English.

About World Literacy Foundation 6 1

We are a global voice to spread and promote the importance of literacy, we empower people to advocate in their local community for this cause.

About World Literacy Foundation

We involve parents in mentoring programs to help them instill the love of reading in their children and create a habit of reading at home.

Our Impact in 2022

20050

volunteer hours donated to our projects

116740

children or parents accessed our services

91037

books distributed

2900

Youth around the world participated in the World Literacy Foundation Ambassadors Program

9.5

million people reached through mainstream media, advocacy events and social media

Thanks to You,
We Did It!

Each year we work across 4,500 communities in 143 countries, reaching 115 million children and their families.

Download the printed version by Country 

Where We Work

We bring free books and literacy support to children in Australia, South America, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Africa.

United States
united sates world literacy Foundation
Latin America
latin america world literacy Foundation
United Kingdom
united kingdom world literacy Foundation
Africa
africa world literacy Foundation
Australia
australia world literacy Foundation

Supporters

Supporters aus aid
Supporters TOBIAS
Partner World Literacy Foundation Step
Supporters Navitas
Partner World Literacy Foundation Shine On
Full Color WEB
Ansvar 300x200

"Grateful for our partnerships who believe in the importance of literacy and for their financial support"

Salesforce - Tobias Harris -Charitable Foundation - Pitney Bowes - Pura Vita - Hello Computer.

Our Team

Andrew Kay
Andy Kay
CEO & FOUNDER
Rebecca Aldred
Rebecca Aldred
UK Fundraising & Project Manager
Naomi Nwagboso
Naomi Nwagboso
TRUSTS AND FOUNDATIONS MANAGER UK READS.
Maria Gregory V2
Maria Gregory
SR. MANAGER, PARTNERSHIP & PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT
Lorena Canon 700x700 1
Lorena Canon
MULTIMEDIA SPECIALIST & PROJECT MANAGER
Daniel Moreno
Daniel Moreno
PROGRAM COORDINATOR ROOP
Joseph WLF sq
Joseph Ghaly
WORLD LITERACY TASKFORCE CONVENER
Greg
Gregory Zaralides
WORLD LITERACY SUMMIT CONFERENCE DIRECTOR
Georgia Allan
Georgia Allan
GRANT WRITER, ROOP
Paula Correa
Paula Londono
PROJECT COORDINATOR APRENDE LEYENDO
Silvia Gomez
Silvia Gomez
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Carlos Vallejo
Carlos Vallejo
ICT BUSINESS ANALYST
Vanessa Portilla - Sun Books Program Manager
Vannesa Portilla
PROJECT MANAGER SUN BOOKS
Andres Vera
Andres Vera
DIGITAL MARKETING AND FUNDRAISING SPECIALIST
Rosario Aran
Rosario Aran
AMBASSADOR COORDINATOR
Charles Muwangala world literacy foundation
Charles Muwangala
PROGRAM COORDINATOR SUN BOOKS UGANDA
Abiodun Okanlawon
Abiodun Okanlawon
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
SUN BOOKS NIGERIA
Lamec Odero V3
Lamek Odero
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
SUN BOOKS KENYA
Vanessa Portilla - Sun Books Program Manager
Vannesa Portilla
PROJECT MANAGER SUN BOOKS
Ali Hawkins
Ali Hawkins
HEAD OF GLOBAL REVENUE USA READS
Rosario Aran
Rosario Aran
AMBASSADOR COORDINATOR
Charles Muwangala world literacy foundation
Charles Muwangala
PROGRAM COORDINATOR SUN BOOKS UGANDA
Abiodun Okanlawon
Abiodun Okanlawon
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
SUN BOOKS NIGERIA
Lamec Odero V3
Lamek Odero
PROGRAM COORDINATOR
SUN BOOKS KENYA

Board of Directors

Donald Green Board Member
Dr Donald Green
PRESIDENT POINT PARK UNIVERSITY IN PITTSBURGH
Darry Keneally Board Member
Mr Darryn Keneally, OAM
DEPUTY CHAIRMAN BIG BROTHERS BIG SISTERS
Anthony Cree Board Member
Dr Anthony Cree, OAM
CHAIRMAN, WORLD LITERACY COUNCIL
Ms Julia Paterson
Ms Julia Paterson
CO-FOUNDER
GREAT WRAP
Andrew Kay
Mr Andrew
Kay
CEO WORLD LITERACY FOUNDATION
Samantha Sida 268
Ms Samantha
Sida
DIRECTOR AND CO-FOUNDER LIMITED SPACE INC
Angelica Correa Board Member
Ms Angelica Correa
MIGRANT ADVOCATE

Our history

Everything Started with a Book!

  1. 2003 world literacy foundation 1

    The World Literacy Foundation was established in Melbourne, Australia to bring books, tutoring, and literacy resources to children without any support.

  2. 2005 world literacy foundation 1

    The World Literacy Foundation sent the first 34,000 children’s storybooks to Ethiopia, Africa to increase the educational resources of children in remote communities.

  3. 2008 world literacy foundation

    We expanded our programs to the United States and the United Kingdom to reach children from low-income families with books and reading support.

  4. 2011 world ltieracy foundation

    We implemented the initiative Reading Out of Poverty in Victoria, Australia, with a sole focus on providing early literacy skills and school preparedness for children aged 0-5 years from a disadvantaged background.

  5. 2012 world literacy foundation

    The first World Literacy Summit was celebrated at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. This is the largest global event that brings together international literacy specialists to build greater collaboration and partnerships in the literacy and education sector.

  6. 2014 world literacy foundation

    We established Aprende Leyendo in Colombia, an early literacy intervention to benefit families with limited educational resources and support.

  7. 2015 world literacy foundation

    World Literacy Foundation was officially registered in the United States and the United Kingdom as a charitable organization to reach children from low-income families with books and reading support.

  8. 2016 World literacy foundation 1

    We started the initial development and testing of Sun Books in Uganda, Africa, the literacy app was pre-loaded in solar-powered tablets to reach students in off-the-grid classrooms.

  9. 2017 world literacy foundation

    We launched our WLF Ambassador Program to inspire young people to become literacy advocates and take action to help reduce illiteracy worldwide.

  10. 2018 world literacy foundation

    We created the Indigenous Learning App for children in 17 communities in Northern Territory, Australia. The app included e-books and games to help children learn English in conjunction with their mother tongue. Dingo App started to be implemented in Colombia as an EdTech solution to promote the learning of students in remote and rural areas.

  11. 2019 world literacy foundation

    Sun Books projects expanded to new schools in Zimbabwe. South Africa, Nigeria, and Kenya.

  12. 2020 world literacy foundation

    Due to the Coronavirus, we transformed the World Literacy Summit 2020 into an online experience reaching 410 million people worldwide. UK Reads was launched as a response to the vital need for UK children to have access to books at home, supporting parents to become their child’s first teacher and literacy support.

CONTACT US

We’d Love to Hear From You!

Australia

home icon 150x150 1  15/20 Commercial Road
Melbourne VIC 3004
Australia
phone icon2  +61 03 9995 0079
ABN: 33 940 354 008
I.A.N: A0055790R DGR

North America

home icon 150x150 1  712 H Street NE Suite 2013Washington, D.C. 20002
phone icon2  +1 815-451-5561
501 (c) 3 EIN 46-1201100

South America

home icon 150x150 1  PO Box 10
Manizales – Colombia
phone icon2  +57 3148217736
NIT: 00000901239830 – 2
Registration: 0090055212

United Kingdom

home icon 150x150 1  225 – 46 Eversholt Street
London NW1 1DA
United Kingdom
phone icon2  +44 7 842930125
Charity No. 1154264
Company No. 08475669

Canada

home icon 150x150 1  400 – 900 6 AVE SW CALGARY AB T2P 3K2 Canada. phone icon2  +1 (403) 860 6453 Corporation No 1257874-3 Registration No 79432 6405 RR0001

Africa

home icon 150x150 1  PO Box 21427
Kampala – Uganda
phone icon2  + 256 785 235776
Charity No. FORR139122056NB

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As an Australian-based not-for-profit organisation we acknowledge the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to them and their cultures, and to their Elders past, present and future.

About Us WLF has grown to align with the needs of an evolving education sector. The World Literacy Foundation has worked towards forging partnerships with other leading educational and related not-for-profit organisations, and has built long-lasting relationships within communities around the world. Donate – United Kingdom World Literacy Foundation significantly dedicates its time and resources to conducting research, and uses resulting information to help advocate in local communities as well as on a global scale.

About Us

About Us

About Us

About Us

The World Literacy Foundation volunteers and partner communities have worked in Azerbaijan, Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Colombia, Mozambique, Uganda, and other developing countries to provide access to quality education and learning resources to disadvantaged communities. With bases on five of the seven continents, the tailors each operation to the country’s specific literacy needs.

In the African sect based in Uganda, where many people live in poverty and have no electricity the World Literacy Foundation has donated solar powered tablets. Paired with the Sun Books initiative the World Literacy Foundation is not just donating recourses but also training to teachers at the primary school level.

Where the foundation was started in Australia, the goal is geared towards closing the gap of literacy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. For indigenous people illiteracy rates are a more prominent problem. To improve skills such as reading and number skills, the World Literacy Foundation has developed a program called the Indigenous Learning App. This app contains multilingual e-books and multiple literacy games in not just English but also the local dialect in Australia.[6]

In the African sect with headquarters in Uganda, where many people live in poverty and have no electricity the World Literacy Foundation has donated solar powered tablets. Paired with the Sun Books initiative the World Literacy Foundation is not just donating recourses but also training to teachers at the primary school level on how to use these resources effectively. The solar powered tablets come preloaded with digital learning content and multilingual e-books. In Uganda only roughly 27% of people have access to electricity and the cost of one book can be a whole month’s salary.

These sunbooks.org are useful in the sense that they do not need to be electrically charged and are universal tools, coming loaded with multiple uses.[7] Several years ago, the World Literacy Foundation founded their South America sect in Manizales, Colombia. Latin America is in dire need of educational reform, over 35 million people over the age of 15 are illiterate.

Here it is only expected that children attend school for 6 years compared to the traditional 12 most other countries require. To help improve these statistics the World Literacy Foundation runs two classes a week for over 60 children and other community members. During beneficial classes the World Literacy Foundation supports learners of all ages with tutoring and reading services.[7] In the United Kingdom illiteracy costs the UK’s economy roughly $50 billion USD a year.

It is here the World Literacy Foundation has run 26 fundraising projects, book distribution drives and provides numerous services. To help combat illiteracy the World literacy Foundation provides services such as parent mentoring, tutoring services, delivering literacy recourses, and distributes multilingual children/baby books. In the UK the World Literacy Foundation also has made a pack to new mothers to whom English would not be their first language to improve literacy and help them improve their standard of life.[7] Even in the United States of America there is a literacy crisis.

This gap can be measured by 30 million words, and this stretches from learners who live in poverty to those who are afforded the best education money can buy. Although it is not just the socioeconomics that divide America’s literate, literacy rates also greatly range between racial groups. To support American learners the World Literacy Foundation has encouraged 150 schools to participate in International literacy Day.

In February 2019 a project called Michigan Reads debuted; this is an initiative to provide tutoring and literacy resources to children from all backgrounds in Michigan. In America there are also over 60 Youth Ambassadors who promote literacy in their schools and communities.[7] Global projects The World Literacy Foundation hosts several global projects a year. The most popular being the International Day of Literacy.