Press Release: Commission launches high-level expert group on literacy chaired by Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands

One in five 15-year-olds in Europe, as well as many adults, lack basic reading and writing skills, which makes it harder for them to find a job and puts them at risk of social exclusion. To help tackle the issue, the European Commission has set up an independent group of experts to identify ways of raising literacy levels. The group is chaired by Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, who is a Special Envoy on Literacy for Development for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). EU Ministers have set a target of reducing the share of pupils with difficulties in reading, maths and science to fewer than 15% by 2020.

European Commission: Memo/11/59: Innovation – key issues for the European Council http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/11/59&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en

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