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TuesdayOctober720149EDUCATIONLITERACYConstituencyOffice5014-50thStreetP.O.Box1986YellowknifeNTX1A2P5Tel867-873-6995TollFree1-800-661-0802Fax867-920-4233HouseofCommonsRoom239ConfederationBuildingOttawaONK1A0A6Tel613-992-4587TollFree1-866-992-4587Fax613-992-1586DennisBevingtonMPNorthwestTerritoriesWeinviteeveryoneinFortSmithtocomeoutandenjoyAFreeFamilySwimandGymActivityattheTownofFortSmithRecreationandCommunityCentreThiseventisheldinconjunctionwithSutherlandHousepromotingFamilyViolenceAwarenessWeekFamilyviolenceisEVERYONESbusinessWhatwillYOUdowww.auroracollege.nt.caFirePreventionWeek2014WorkingsmokealarmssavelivestestyourseverymonthAuroraCollegewouldliketothankallprofessionalPeterGzowskiliteracyawardssupportadultlearnersCanadianjournalistslegacycarriedonthroughliteracyawarenessByDALICARMICHAELAcollectorofCanadianculturejournalistPeterGzowskiwasamasterofeverymedium.Asabroadcasterwriterandreporterpos-sessingstrongliteracyskillsandbeingabletoeffectivelycommunicatewasabsolutelyintegraltohiscareer.Gzowskiwantedtosharehisloveoflit-eracywiththenationwhichiswhyin1985hestartedthePeterGzowskiLiteracyInvi-tationalPGIanawarenesscampaignandfundraisergearedtowardsupportingadultlearners.ThisyearthebiennialeventisreturningtotheNorthSlaveregiontouringaroundschoolsandcommunitycentresinYellowknifeDet-tahNdiloandBehchokofromOct.6to9.Gzowskiwasahugeproponentforlit-eracyandhewasinlovewiththeNorthsaidMichaelCorbettpresidentoftheNWTLiteracyCouncil.Hefosteredthesensethatliteracywasimportantandrecog-nizedpeoplewhodidwhattheycouldtopromoteliteracy.Thecelebrationsorganizedinpartner-shipwithEducationCultureandEmploy-mentECEbeganonMondaywithavisittoChiefDrygeeseCentreinDettahwherethepremierhostedacommunityfeastasNorthernchampionsofliteracyacceptedawardsfortheireffortsinlearningandsharingliteracy.Thirdyeardevelopmentalstudiesstu-dentStaceyKeyesandsecond-yearNDilocommunitylearningcentrestudentRoseMackenzieoftheYellowknivesDeneFirstNationwerebothrecognizedfortheirde-terminedeffortstowardsselfimprovementasadultlearners.MaryRoseSundbergexecutivedirectoroftheGoyatikoLanguageSocietyinDettahwasawardedwiththeGzowskiawardgiftedtosomeonewhosharesthejournalistsspiritasaproponentforliteracy.ThroughouttheinvitationallocalandnationalartistslikeDigaWolfandTJBugginsWillyMammothConnieKal-dorandactorJonathanTorrenswilllendtheirvoicestothecausehostingperfor-mancesandpresentationsonstayinginschoolandthevariouswaysliteracyhasenhancedtheirlives.OnOct.7and8theNorthernArtsandCulturalCentrewillhosttwoshowsinsup-portofthePGIwithticketsalesgoingto-wardsNWTcommunityliteracyprograms.AneedtoimproveliteracyratesTheresahugeneedforliteracyactivitiesintheNWTforallsortsofreasonsCor-bettsaidemphasizingtheworktheLiteracyCouncilandECEaredoingtoimproveadultcomprehension.Corbettsaidstructuralissueshaveim-pactedthemoderngenerationofadultsintheNWTwheresomestudentsgrewupincommunitieswithnohighschoolforcingthemtoeitherleavehometocontinuetheirstudiesordropoutaltogether.Astrategicframeworktowardsdevelop-ingadultliteracyfrom2008to2018holdssomeofthemostrecentinformationonliteracyratesintheNWT.Accordingtothedocument70percentofAboriginaladultsintheNWTdonothavetheappropriateliteracyskillstofullyparticipateinmodernsocietycomparedto30percentofnon-Aboriginaladults.Inthesmallercommunitiesonly39percentofstudentsinGrades1through9arereport-edlyworkingonlanguageartscurriculumsatthesamelevelastheirgradeofenrollmentcomparedto69percentintheregionalcentreslikeHayRiverand78percentinYellowknife.Accordingtoanational2012statisticfromEmploymentandSocialDevelopmentCanadaonly36.2percentoftheterritoryspopulationareconsideredtobefunctionallyliterate.Thenumbersarentencouragingbutwithini-tiativeslikePGIandongoinglearningdevelop-mentCorbetthopestohelpreversethetrend.MikeStevensplaystheharmonicaforstudentsattheKalemiDeneSchoolinNDiloonOct.6aspartofthePeterGzowskiInvitationaltour.PhotoRobertWilson