"21st century literacy skills" the focus of TVO's new programming season

    
    -  Ontario Education Minister helps launch TVO's new literacy campaign at
       The Word on the Street TVOKids stage today.
    

TORONTO , Sept. 27 /CNW/ - Today's event was playful but the broader message significant. In between skits by Sir Readsalot and his trusty steed Bookmark and performances by TVOKids hosts, TVO's Chief Executive Officer Lisa de Wilde and the Honourable Kathleen Wynne launched a year-long programming commitment that goes beyond basic literacy skills by spotlighting Science and Innovation, Digital Media, Civics and the Environment.

"These are what we're calling essential 21st century literacy skills," said Ms. de Wilde. "TVO has an ongoing commitment to fostering greater literacy for all Ontarians, and this year we're going even further by focusing our entire broadcast season on new literacy skills that allow us to live and act with purpose."

"Literacy is the key to a successful life for our students and for a prosperous society. Through its new literacy campaign, TVO is reaching out to Ontarians of all ages to help them develop skills they need to be more successful in all aspects of life," said Education Minister Kathleen Wynne .

TVO's literacy campaign includes an in-depth exploration of science in partnership with the Quantum to Cosmos festival at Canada's Perimeter Institute from October 15 to the 25th. To demystify the complexities of government, TVO is offering a host of resources like Civics 101, the new Queen's Park This Week and Inside Ontario, a new weekly blog. It will also examine reading and writing and its impact on more than five thousand years of human history with Empire of the Word, a highly anticipated TVO commissioned documentary series and on-line game coming this fall.

Ms. de Wilde says that TVO is uniquely positioned in today's media world to empower Ontarians with the many literacy skills needed to fully engage in today's society. "We have a decades-long track-record in educational programming, and we're breaking new ground all the time," she explained. "Today, we're a digital media organization that firmly believes the more we enable citizens to understand the core forces shaping our world - areas like science, technology and politics, the stronger our society will be."

For a complete listing of TVO's literacy campaign, please check in with tvo.org/literacy starting in October.

About TVO

TVO is Ontario's public educational media organization and a trusted source of interactive educational content that informs, inspires and stimulates curiosity and thought. TVO's vision is to empower people to be engaged citizens of Ontario through educational media. For more information, visit tvo.org.

Where to find TVO

Cable channel 2 (channel may vary in some areas), Bell TV channel 265, Star Choice channel 353. For more information, visit tvo.org.

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For further information: Media contact: Teresa Roncon, Corporate Public Relations, W: [phone], BB: [phone], [email protected]