Between 2002 and 2008, Nancy Jackson (a faculty member at OISE) received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) to support the creation of the Festival of Literacies. During the years when the Festival was active with many activities that brought together OISE students and staff who had an interest in and were researching adult literacy with adult literacy practitioners (paid staff and volunteers). These events provided space for practitioners to reflect on their work and to dialogue with each other and with OISE students.
The Festival was a place to “celebrate the creation and mobilization of knowledge about literacy practice and literacy research.” Regular events were presented at OISE along with course offering specifically designed for those interested in adult literacy. The Festival also produced podcasts, newsletters and publications showcasing the work that was being done on the topic of adult literacy. Various resources from the previous Festivals are available online through http://www.greedymouse.ca/festival/index.html.
With the end of the SSHRC funding and the retirement of Nancy, the Festival also ended its successful and popular run. Along with the end of the Festival, the connection between OISE and the adult literacy became less organized and more sporadic. However, the interest from the practitioners in the Festival and its concepts has not waned even when reinitiating the Festival without major funding support was unfortunately beyond the capacity of many.
In late 2015, a small group of OISE students and alumni began discussions about how great it would be to bring the Festival back. Initial discussions became increasingly enthusiastic even though funding was still sorely lacking. The group believed that the Festival could be remounted with minimal expenses; and the event could be supported by either funding requests from within the University or a small charge to participants. Within the span of several months, what started out as casual discussions on our longing to see the Festival again became actually bringing it back to OISE and to adult literacy practitioners.
On April 29, 2016, the first revival of the Festival of Literacies was held at the Peace Lounge at OISE with nearly 50 participants. With the positive feedback from the event, the group of organizers decided to commit themselves to making the Festival a going concern for as long as possible.
The Festival was a place to “celebrate the creation and mobilization of knowledge about literacy practice and literacy research.” Regular events were presented at OISE along with course offering specifically designed for those interested in adult literacy. The Festival also produced podcasts, newsletters and publications showcasing the work that was being done on the topic of adult literacy. Various resources from the previous Festivals are available online through http://www.greedymouse.ca/festival/index.html.
With the end of the SSHRC funding and the retirement of Nancy, the Festival also ended its successful and popular run. Along with the end of the Festival, the connection between OISE and the adult literacy became less organized and more sporadic. However, the interest from the practitioners in the Festival and its concepts has not waned even when reinitiating the Festival without major funding support was unfortunately beyond the capacity of many.
In late 2015, a small group of OISE students and alumni began discussions about how great it would be to bring the Festival back. Initial discussions became increasingly enthusiastic even though funding was still sorely lacking. The group believed that the Festival could be remounted with minimal expenses; and the event could be supported by either funding requests from within the University or a small charge to participants. Within the span of several months, what started out as casual discussions on our longing to see the Festival again became actually bringing it back to OISE and to adult literacy practitioners.
On April 29, 2016, the first revival of the Festival of Literacies was held at the Peace Lounge at OISE with nearly 50 participants. With the positive feedback from the event, the group of organizers decided to commit themselves to making the Festival a going concern for as long as possible.