What’s going on in New Zealand to improve literacy?

UNESCO[i] declared 8 September International Literacy Day in 1966. The purpose of celebrating this day each year is to remind the international community that literacy for all makes a healthy society — socially, politically, mentally, and physically healthy, that is.

Almost 50 years after the first Literacy Day, many countries still struggle with basic education and literacy. Our friend Sandra Fisher-Martins[ii] tells a story about how written information affects the lives of people who can’t read. Listen to Sandra’s story about her neighbour Mr Domingos in her TED talk. 

And in New Zealand and Australia, many people in our own adult communities find daily information difficult to take in and use.

Find out what’s being done to improve adult literacy by subscribing to the valuable newsletters at Workbase New Zealand. As a not-for-profit trust, they support organisations and people to build literacy, language, numeracy, and communication skills for a modern economy and society.

Workbase brings literacy to people at their workplace. They know that people’s general health, their safety at work and their economic status is closely linked to their literacy. You can read Susan Reid’s informative blog about health literacy, and subscribe to Workbase’s monthly health literacy newsletter.

At Write Limited we help writers in organisations small and large apply plain language techniques to their information. Writers may have a higher level of literacy than the thousands of readers they write for. Our plain language solutions help writers make health information, financial information, legal information, any information easier to read, take in and use. Our newsletters will show you how.

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[i] UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

[ii] Sandra Fisher-Martins established Claro in Portugal

I hope I've done the right thing

We attach the word ‘literacy’ to many areas of information in the new century—food, media, computers, health. ‘Financial literacy’ is an important term to know and important skill to have for people like me approaching retirement.

Today I phoned a financial organisation to take out my small investment. My adviser had told me to use the word ‘repurchase’, so that I got the money by cheque. When I phoned the organisation, the person who answered the phone refused to use the word ‘repurchase’, and said I must want to ‘redeem’ or ‘withdraw’ the money. He’s sending a form. I hope I’ve done the right thing.

Post written by Rosie Knight

Understanding the fiscal cliff

Yet another picturesque term from the language of economics is making headlines, especially since the US elections. This time it's the 'fiscal cliff'. Find out more in this article from The Atlantic. And is it a cliff or a slippery slope?

Read about the fiscal cliff

Seeking direction in the financial markets

One common complaint from the global financial downturn is that people didn't understand what they were signing up to. In New Zealand, the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has been charged with making sure that investors have the information they need to make good decisions; that disclosure documents are effective. The FMA has recently released a consultation paper on guidelines to help organisations meet the standard of 'effective', and we're please to see that they 'get' plain English. Here's a quote from the guidelines:

20. Disclosure documents are clear if they:

• use plain language;
• are logically ordered and easy to navigate;
• highlight key information;
• explain complex information, including any technical terms;
• avoid industry or legal jargon.

21. Plain English is a style of writing in which the language, structure, and presentation of a document all work together to help the reader. A document written in plain English is easy to read, understand, and act upon after just one reading. [We couldn't agree more. Ed.]

 Last year, commenting on the new Financial Sector category in the annual Plain English Awards, Diana Crossan, Retirement Commissioner, said ‘New Zealand is one of the first countries in the world to develop a national strategy for financial literacy. Making sure documents are clear, understandable, and easy to compare means people can make informed financial decisions throughout their lives.’

The new guidance document is another step in the right direction.

Even the professionals get confused - supporting the case for plain English

Even the financially literate folk at the Commission for Financial Literacy and Retirement Income can get confused by financial information, according to a recent report about KiwiSaver calculations. It just goes to show that everyone benefits from clear, concise communication. And when we're reading about complex topics like retirement savings, clarity is critical. The main message to fund managers? 'Keep KiwiSaver clear.'

Read what happened here