Beyond Words

From poverty, prison and feeling powerless to teaching himself to read on TikTok. Oliver has become a global sensation with his dedication and determination to use his literacy skills to inspire others.

Discover how Turn On the Subtitles is revolutionizing children's literacy skills with Henry Warren. Tune in for insights on this transformative initiative!

Dive into the heart of literacy transformation! 🌍

In this captivating episode of Beyond Words Literacy Podcast, witness the dynamic collaboration between the World Literacy Foundation, Sun Books in Kenya, and the groundbreaking teaching approach of Tiny Ivy.

Discover the inspiring journey of Tiny Ivy with Mary Silverswag, unveiling the innovative TIPS language born from a parent's quest to teach. Unravel the broader issues of illiteracy in the U.S. and the crucial role of orthography. Mary delves into Tiny Ivy's global potential, addressing challenges faced by educators and the need for change in teaching methodologies.

Explore the application of Tiny Ivy in the U.S. and Kenya, navigating challenges and celebrating successes. Learn about Sun Books' initiative in Kenya, led by the dedicated Lamek, addressing literacy crises with a focus on creativity and collaboration. Despite challenges in Kenyan schools, witness the unwavering commitment of teachers.

Lamek shares the urgency of tackling Kenya's literacy crisis and outlines Sun Books' strategic approach. The episode acknowledges the World Literacy Foundation's commitment to a literate world by 2040, inviting you to contribute and join forces as Christmas time approaches.

Join this transformative journey as Sun Books and Tiny Ivy unite to empower minds globally. 📚✨

Support literacy and be part of the change!

Visit the World Literacy Foundation website to make a lasting impact this Christmas time. 🌐🔗 https://worldliteracyfoundation.org

Listen now for an inspiring journey and discover how you can be part of the global literacy movement. 📚✊

Tune in on your favorite podcast platform!

In this episode of the Beyond Words podcast, we are honored to have Maryam, our World Literacy Youth Ambassador representing Afghanistan sharing her incredible journey and her vital work. As a young leader and a former senior human rights and gender officer, Maryam sheds light on the transformative power of education and literacy, especially for vulnerable groups such as young girls, minorities, and people with disabilities.

She discusses the challenges women and girls face in accessing education in Afghanistan, including recent bans on girls attending school and the impact of this on their lives. Maryam also shares her remarkable efforts in creating a secret library to ensure access to books for women and girls, even in these challenging times.

Join us in this insightful conversation with Maryam as we explore the resilience of the human spirit and the crucial role literacy plays in empowering individuals and communities in Afghanistan.

Discover how digital books are becoming a lifeline for those in need and find inspiration in Maryam's unwavering commitment to promoting literacy and education with the support of the World Literacy Foundation despite adversity.

Stay tuned for an eye-opening and heartwarming discussion on the power of words, education, and hope.

Join Maryam's fight for education in Afghanistan.

Listen to her story of determination and resilience. 🎧

Get ready for an episode that will leave you inspired and hopeful for a brighter future! 🌟 Join us on the Beyond Words Literacy Podcast as we feature the incredible innovator and co-founder of Great Wrap, Julia Kay. Through their revolutionary initiative, they are reshaping the world's perception of materials 🌎📦, solving the problems of tomorrow with solutions today, but what's even more remarkable is her deep connection to the World Literacy Foundation. 📚🌍

Julia's involvement with the World Literacy Foundation goes beyond her entrepreneurial endeavours. She's also a key player on the board of the organisation, a role she views as critical in shaping a better future. Her passion for education, ignited by her mother's role as a primary school teacher 👩‍🏫🎒, fuels her drive to improve global literacy. 📖✨

As Julia exemplifies, the partnership between entrepreneurial spirit and literacy advocacy holds the key to building a brighter future. 💡🌱 Her dynamic role as a co-founder, environmentalist 🌿🍃, and education advocate underscores the essentiality of diverse perspectives in creating meaningful change. Tune in to the Beyond Words Podcast to hear Julia's incredible journey and insights into driving impactful transformation in the realm of materials and literacy. 🎙️🚀

By listening to this episode, you'll gain insights into Julia's journey of turning ideas into reality 💡🌟, while also understanding how her involvement with the World Literacy Foundation adds a unique dimension to her pursuits. Tune in on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your preferred podcast platform to learn from Julia's wisdom and get inspired to take part in shaping a sustainable and educated world for everyone. 🎧🌏📚

Join us for a riveting episode of the Beyond Words podcast as we sit down with Yasmine Sherif, the Executive Director of Education Cannot Wait (ECW), a global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises. Yasmine is at the forefront of a transformative movement that aims to deliver education to the most marginalized individuals in crisis settings worldwide.

Under Yasmine's visionary leadership, ECW has achieved remarkable milestones in a short span of time. With over US$1.5 billion mobilized, ECW has successfully reached more than 7 million children affected by crises, providing them with holistic and quality education. At the heart of ECW's mission lies the commitment to prioritize foundational learning outcomes, including literacy, ensuring a brighter future for these vulnerable children.

With 30 years of experience as a human rights lawyer working in war zones and crises, Yasmine brings invaluable expertise to her role at ECW's headquarters in New York. Regularly undertaking missions to crisis-affected countries, she assesses needs and strengthens ECW's responses on the ground, striving to address the educational challenges faced by those in dire circumstances.

Yasmine's relentless advocacy for the right to education has made her a respected global advocate and a thought leader in her field. Her media presence and authorship of the book "The Case for Humanity: An Extraordinary Session" further amplify her voice. Recognitions such as the Global Educator Award in 2020 and the prestigious Mother Teresa Award on behalf of Education Cannot Wait in 2022 highlight her significant contributions to the global education landscape.

Tune in to the Beyond Words podcast as we delve into Yasmine Sherif's inspiring journey, exploring her commitment to breaking down barriers and providing education in the midst of crises. Learn how ECW is repositioning education in emergencies as a top priority, generating greater commitment to meet the educational needs of millions of children and adolescents affected by crises worldwide. Don't miss this engaging conversation that sheds light on the urgent need for accessible education in times of crisis.

Join us on Beyond Words podcast as we embark on a profound journey with Madi Franquiz, the Youth Ambassador of the World Literacy Foundation. At just 25 years old, Madi fearlessly stood before the United Nations, advocating for children who, like her, missed the critical 3rd Grade Literacy Benchmark. From facing poverty and limited access to books to defying expectations, Madi's story is one of resilience and triumph.

In this captivating episode, we explore Madi's incredible accomplishments, from self-publishing eight children's books to delivering a compelling address at the World Literacy Summit. Named the youngest founding member of the World Literacy Task Force, she continues to break barriers and serve as an inspiration to thousands worldwide. Madi's journey proves that education and determination can transform lives and create lasting change.

Tune in to Beyond Words podcast and immerse yourself in the emotional and empowering tale of Madi Franquiz. Let her story ignite your passion for literacy and empower you to make a difference in the world.

Our special guest, Samantha Sida, co-founder of Limited Space and a World Literacy Foundation board member, shares her passion for tackling illiteracy worldwide. After attending the World Literacy Summit in Oxford, Samantha shares her insights on the impact of illiteracy on young people and how digital technology is changing the game. We dive into the World Literacy Taskforce, an initiative of The World Literacy Foundation launched in New York during the 77th UN General Assembly. The initiative brought together business leaders from around the world to offer their brainpower, skills, and resources to help eradicate illiteracy in 50 cities by 2030. This episode is a must-listen for anyone who cares about education, literacy, and making a difference in the world.

Passionate and articulate, he’s seen the pain and shame that comes with illiteracy as many women struggle to access the essential resources they feel disempowered and frustrated. So as Head of Literacy at one of India's biggest companies TATA, Kishan chose to teach in the biggest slums in India - to serve to give and to empower. A beautiful warm, and engaging teacher and an engineer, he’s seen lives transformed within a week as they hold a pen for the first time, access new Literacy technology, and learn how to write and read🙏🏼📘😘🙏🏼🌎

With almost a million beneficiaries in 17 states of India, the TATA adult literacy program is transformative.📗📗

The literacy program has a unique focus on women and adults from marginalized communities and has also been extensively used by prison authorities as a reformation process for the inmates. 📘📘

Our guest Kishan Gopal Laddha started his professional career with Tata Consultancy Services, serving as a design engineer with one of the world’s largest medical manufacturing companies.

Finding passion in serving, he joined the pioneering batch of Teach for India and taught as a primary teacher in low-income schools in India’s largest slums for two years. He joined TCS as the bridge between corporate and society and led Corporate Social Responsibility for central, north, and western India TCS CSR.

Over the years, he worked with non-neo literates and empowered them with self-respect, confidence, and reliance.

He heads TCS’ Literacy as a Service, which serves 1.1 mn+ people (>80%) women across India.🌺🌺🎤

His passion is incredible and inspiring, we hope you connect with his story as much as we did.

Kyle Wallgren

Chief Executive Officer

Edsoma.

Globally renowned NBA basketball star

Shaq O Neill is just one of the many literacy advocates supporting this innnovative literacy platform now in 11 countries.

He’s On a literacy mission and is an investor in Edsoma a powerful literacy APP

The world has experienced a shift since the pandemic broke out. Now, self-education has taken a stronger stand than ever, with remote learning and parents actively being school teachers’ assistants. This has, however, enabled poor quality learning and reading. To fix the situation, Kyle Wallgren got the idea to build a new communication and reading application called Edsoma.

Edsoma was designed to get children back in the reading culture and help them bond better with the authority figures in their lives.

The app has been on the trajectory to become every family’s favorite reading application with its numerous features and functionalities that encourage bonding while learning. One remarkable thing about Edsoma is that parents and guardians do not need to be physically present with their children to read with them. Instead, they can do the reading from any part of the world and still achieve the same.

The app’s creator and CEO, Kyle Wallgren, got the inspiration to build the app due to his marital status as a divorced parent.

“I wanted to continue reading with my children even when I’m not with them. So, I created this app for not just myself but other parents in a similar situation”.

Tom Richardson

Chief Executive Officer

Literacy Planet

Tom is on a mission to transform the way people learn. He is humbled to lead the LiteracyPlanet team, inspiring a lifetime of learning. Tom is a proud dad of three kids and loves nature, the outdoors, adventure and travel. 

LiteracyPlanet is a research and evidence-aligned literacy program combining the science of reading, great storytelling and the psychology of gameplay to create a learning experience that educators and students love.

The driving force behind LiteracyPlanet is motivating students to discover the joy of learning through the power of great storytelling and gamified learning experiences.

Immersive storytelling

Just as the world’s most popular films and games are driven by compelling narratives, LiteracyPlanet’s Storyverse immerses readers in a captivating world of fun, fantasy and wonder. This is where learning becomes meaningful and memorable, inspiring children to connect with their writing in imaginative and creative ways.

Gamification for learning

LiteracyPlanet uses the psychology of gameplay to encourage, motivate and reward children as they move from one curriculum outcome to the next. It is an enabler, building confidence and determination within a safe and nurturing environment.

Welcome to the Beyond Words World Literacy Podcast

Love the name it’s very universal and ultimately learning, and literacy has 247,000 students using it in 900 in 80 countries schools that’s impressive!

We will interview the Director of Little Free Library, a project aiming to fill the book deserts with over 100,000 Little Free Libraries worldwide in more than 100 countries. This project impacts thousands of people, increasing access to books for readers of all ages and backgrounds!

In our latest episode, we interview two great educators and academics, Dr. Leslie Haas and Dr. Jill Tussey, to discuss about student engagement and motivation through digital literacy and popular culture.

Beyond the Words is a literacy podcast by World Literacy Foundation and World Literacy Summit where literacy experts and change-makers discuss the challenges in creating a literate world.

Listen to Dr. Rana Dajani, a passionate scientific woman who back in 2006, started establishing libraries in every neighborhood in Jordan, encouraging reading aloud to children. Today, she is the founder of We Love Reading, an organization that promotes a love for reading in children and is present in over 55 countries.

In our first episode, we interview the CEO and founder of the World Literacy Foundation, Andrew Kay- a passionate man working tirelessly since 2003 to help get books in the hands of children with limited resources across the world.

Welcome to Beyond Words from World Literacy Summit. In this open space, experts and changemakers in the literacy and education sector discuss the latest news, trends, and challenges in creating a literate world. Join us in this 20 minutes journey to build a literate world. Subscribe today to do not miss an episode.