Blog

I spent last week crafting felt stories, making ice cream, getting to know new people, and singing songs. No, I wasn’t on vacation; I was at the NWT Literacy Council’s Family Literacy Training Institute. Family literacy workers from all over the NWT gathered in Somba K’e (Yellowknife) to attend this annual training. The NWT Literacy Council offered training on the basic theory of family literacy… Read more.

Look for us at Healthy Living Fairs. We’ll have as many of our resources to give away as we can carry. Last week we left Yellowknife with 50 kilograms of luggage and returned from Délı̨ne with only 4.5 kilograms.  That’s because we gave away books and other literacy resources. We found out that Robert Munsch is particularly popular. We gave away homemade play dough and lots of copies of Recipes… Read more.

In October, I was fortunate to be able to attend the 20th Inuit Studies Conference in St. John’s, Newfoundland. We were honoured to have our film Hivulipita Uqauhiit Tuppaaqtauffaaqtut: Awakening Our Ancestors’ Words selected as part of the Katingavik Inuit Arts Festival. This film is about a visit several Elders and researchers from Ulukhaktok and Cambridge Bay made to interact with Inuinnait… Read more.

I've learned many things about finances and money as an accounting student. Here are my three most important tips for managing money. Know where your money goes More often than not we are unaware of where we spend our money. We’re confused about where it goes and why we aren’t closer to meeting our savings goals. One way to see where it all goes is to write down or track all of your spending for… Read more.

Our daily lives are filled with exposure to different media.  We are bombarded with movies, video games, commercials, internet, television, social media.  Sometimes it’s easy to forget how much media can influence our thoughts and our behaviours. That makes media literacy an increasingly important life skill. That’s why, for the past six years, a whole week is set aside to help us focus on… Read more.

Did you know that October is Health Literacy Month? The term “health literacy” refers to the skills people need to access, understand and use information in ways that help them maintain or improve their health. Research shows that 55% of adults in Canada do not have good health literacy in all situations. Health is a complicated topic and health-related information changes all the time. So, it’s… Read more.

October marks Canada Library Month. If recent news stories are any indication, an event to highlight the importance of, and to celebrate libraries, is needed more than ever. In Newfoundland, public libraries are facing drastic cuts and closures. Here at home, the territorial law library is converted to a less than sufficient “resource center” while school districts cut the hours of school library… Read more.

Today is International Plain Language Day. People are encouraged to ‘show and tell’ their clear communication successes. One of our successes is our northern cookbook, Great Food for Northern Cooks, full of clear and easy recipes. Every cooking program in the Northwest Territories uses this book. We’re very proud of it. We had great partners working on this project, including Yellowknife Health… Read more.

Strategic planning. Budgeting. Policy updates. These are some of the necessary behind-the-scenes work that boards and staff tackle in non-profit organizations. The NWT Literacy Council is no exception. Last weekend the Literacy Council board members gathered in Yellowknife to host our Annual General Meeting and to finish updating their board handbook and personnel policies. We are governed by a… Read more.

While we’re celebrating NWT Literacy Week, others around Canada are celebrating Postmedia’s Raise-a-Reader Week. Although we don’t have this program in the NWT, the NWT Literacy Council can help you raise your own little reader! Read from the start. Start reading with your newborn in those very first days. Even very young babies respond to the warmth of your touch, and the soothing sound of a… Read more.