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agos, Elephant House, 16th & 17th Floors, 214 Broad Street, Lagos. DATE Saturday, September 30, 2006 ABOUT NiPRO NiPRO International is a global network of motivated young Nigerian professionals working together to build a prosperous, united and stronger Nigeria now and for the future. NiPRO is a subdivision of the AFRican PROfessionals (AfriPRO) Network Inc. Our vision (worldwide) To build a new positive image and appreciation for young Nigerian professionals and Nigeria, her culture and her people!" Our Mission Fostering the growth of highly talented, socially responsible and dynamic young Nigerian professionals to - Address issues that affect young Nigerians - Build meaningful contacts - Cultivate impeccable professionalism - Discover business etiquette & protocol - Exchange ideas & visions - Foster Travelers' Philanthropy in Nigeria NiPRO has five pillars upon which we are building the Network: - Professional Development - Wealth Creation & Investment - Cultural & Political Awareness - Technology - Community Service i.e. Medical & Technology Missions via Travelers' Philanthropy PROJECT RATIONALE In the last twenty years, the number of international migrants around the world has increased 200% from 100 to 200 million per year. As a matter of fact, there is a phenomenal growing interest amongst young Nigerians migrating to Europe and America in search of greener pastures. By so doing they help in the continual advancement of these continents, and further strengthen the brain drain initiative while leaving Nigeria untouched. Unfortunately, these migrants have more difficulty than permanent residents, in the country of destination, accessing services such as health, housing and education, and are often the target of unfair policies and discrimination by local citizens. These students and professionals who make up a large chunk of the migrants are unaware of the steps to take in surviving and living over there, problems they might encounter, challenges in relocating, and untapped opportunities here in Nigeria. A lot of young people are faced daily with confusion, discouragement, disenchantment, disarray, injustice, advance fee fraud, tribalism and general decay pervading the whole society. These social evils have left a lot of young Nigerians in the dungeon of despair and have beclouded their vision to be patriotic and professional. Hence, the mass migration of young Nigerians to seek greener pastures in a foreign land(s). There are about five million young Nigerians living abroad, with over 20,000 doctors, 5,000 lawyers, 5000 technological experts living in the United States. It is in light of the foregoing that the Nigerian Professionals (NiPRO) International Network conceptualized the READY..? SET..? STAY NIGERIA! project. The initiative will explore opportunities, discuss possible impediments and doubts, and also emphasize the incentives and existing opportunities in Nigeria and offer advice to practicing entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs; thereby drawing an accurate picture of business in Nigeria. It will also discourage Nigerians from running overseas to live there but to stay in Nigeria to help in the ongoing developmental works. It will also compliment the efforts of the READY...? SET..? GO Africa initiative for Africans in Diaspora. The initiative will be in serial workshops and seminars that will include lectures, panel discussions with audio visual aids, case studies, syndicate work, film show and field visitation where necessary. Facilitators will be drawn from Nigerian Immigration Service, Foreign Embassies, the Diaspora, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), National Orientation Agency, Educational institutes and Non-governmental organizations. This particular event will attempt to answer the following questions: 1. What are the benefits of being a Nigerian citizen? 2. What are the tangible benefits of holding a Nigerian passport? 3. What opportunities exist in Nigeria? 4. Why should Nigerians be patriotic? 5. How can young Nigerians build a new Nigeria? 6. Why National pride amidst poverty? VENUE The Conference and Training Centre Lagos is located on the Island; a central location and has a very serene environment which allows for learning and good interaction. It is situated within the Elephant House with working elevators. SUBJECT MATTER OF THE SEMINAR The Seminar would be focused on issues bordering on Migration, Immigration, Patriotism, Economic Empowerment, Leadership, Citizenship, Nation Building and Networking, amongst others. OBJECTIVES The Ready…? Set…? Stay Nigeria!!! programme for young Nigerians professionals desires to achieve the following objectives:  To empower young Nigerians into joining the course of rebuilding Nigeria with their expertise and resources.  To stimulate creativity amongst young Nigerian professionals, upcoming professionals and graduate students.  To expose existing entrepreneurial opportunities amongst young Nigerians.  To promote and strengthen networking amongst participants on youth development issues.  To facilitate the exchange of leads, recommendations and ideas.  To develop action plans and execute a programme for young Nigerian professionals development while supplementing already existing initiatives and encourage the advancement of fresh ones. DESIRED OUTCOME • Expansion of professional horizons for all participants. • Economic empowerment and capacity building for all participants. • Development of measurable and realistic action plans and execution of subsequent programmes. • Promotion of the Nigerian brand. • Further develop and strengthen the NiPRO Network. • Acquiring and sharpening networking skills. • Build and sustain a website (www.readysetstayng.org) projecting the positive image of Nigeria. RESOURCE PERSONS/FACILITATORS The resource persons are well experienced young professionals who will analyze the issues of Migration. A lead paper will be presented by Mr. Edi Lawani, MD of Edi Lawani and Associates (Alternative Approach Konsultancy), an entertainment Communications company. Mr. Lawani is a trained and seasoned journalist who later worked with PMAN, got involved in Artist Management, Events Management and now into Show Production. The panelists include Mr. Isaac Anjorin of the Nigerian Immigration Service, Miss Morayo Akabashorun, AGM NiPRO representing the Nigerian Diaspora; and Mr. Oyebanjo Okunnuga, a young entrepreneur, CEO, Kubacle Clothing and Mr. Chidi Enwerem, lecturer, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Lagos State University. Victor Gotevbe, General Manager NiPRO Nigeria and Personnel Officer of Vanguard Media Limited will serve as the Moderator. Other guests include Lari Williams veteran actor. ADMISSION This is free for the first registered forty interested participants but will pay a token of N500 for the seminar materials and others will have to pay the sum of two thousand five hundred naira (N2,500). IMPORTANCE OF STAKE HOLDERS/DONORS CONTRIBUTIONS This is the time various stakeholders, the Government, Civil society Organizations, Corporate Bodies, Non-governmental development organizations and all other stakeholders consider youth development as a corporate social responsibility that require urgent and maximum attention. The NiPRO activities have a broad effect in that the beneficiaries take what they get from NiPRO back to their various communities and their work places and effect positive changes. This will reap long term benefits for your organization and for our growing global economic community. You will be dealing with young Nigerians who believe and are working towards the vision of a new Nigeria. There is also advertising and marketing benefits of your products or services amongst our clientele. EVALUATION OF PROGRAMME Monitoring will be an ongoing activity and Evaluation will be periodic. This will be conducted through interviews and open-ended questionnaires from participants of all our events. Periodic reports will be prepared that identify the major findings of the evaluation and how they have been used to improve our events. The services of professional evaluators will be engaged in due course. OTHER INFORMATION FEEDING AND ACCOMMODATION Since some participants will be coming from outside Lagos. NiPRO can help make hotel arrangement for interested participants but cannot at this stage provide free accommodation. Participants will be responsible for payment of hotel bills and feeding. However, light refreshment will be served in during the event. TRANSPORTATION Participants will be responsible for their transportation to and from the venue. MATERIALS Conference materials include a flier, NiPRO document, coat of arms, a national flag, a copy of the National Anthem and the certificate of attendance will be issued to all participants and facilitators at no cost. CONTACT EMAIL: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected] TEL: 08033057677, 08033970935, 08052028105, 08033539465 Website: www.niproinc.com APPENDIX NiPRO INTERNATIONAL OFFICIALS’ PROFILES Kamiludeen Olufowobi Executive Director, NiPRO International – Tel: 7327344873 (US) Kamil Olufowobi, a young Nigerian professional, who studied in Singapore, worked in London, traveled to Australia & backpacked around Europe & South East Asia, generally, considers himself to be "a global citizen." He is creative with efficient work habits and a team player with proven leadership qualities. He has excellent communication skills with working knowledge of Chinese Mandarin and French. Masters Degree, International Affairs Bsc, Information Technology, New Jersey Inst. of Technology, USA Engineering Exchange Program, Nanyang University, Singapore AWARDS & HONORS - Youth Coordinator, International Institute of Peace through Tourism 2002-2003 - Honorary Member, Tourism Society 2002 - 2003 - Who’s Who among Students in American Universities & Colleges 2000 & 2002 - NJIT Dean of Student Services Outstanding Leadership Award 2001 - Founder & President, Organization of African Students (NJIT & RUTGERS Univ.) 99 – 00 WORK EXPERIENCE - The Conference Board, Manhattan, NY - Communications Manager - World Travel & Tourism Council, London, United Kingdom - IT Project Manager - Merck Sharp & Dohme (Singapore) Ltd., Singapore - Programmer / Web Designer - Harvard University, Africana.com Inc. Cambridge, MA - Programmer / Web Designer Victor Gotevbe General Manager, NiPRO International Nigeria Tel: 0803 305 7677 Victor Gotevbe, a young Nigerian professional, who majored in Philosophy at St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, is currently a student member of Nigerian Institute of Public Relations and an Associate Member of Nigerian Institute of Management while working at Vanguard Media as the Personnel Officer. He possesses admirable drive and passion to serve humanity wholeheartedly and selflessly. He has been trained both locally and internationally on leadership, good governance, democracy, human rights and social entrepreneurship. B.Sc., Philosophy, St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary, Makurdi, Benue State, Nigeria AWARDS & HONORS - President, Apapa Golden Leo Club, Youth Activity, Lions International Club, District 404 - President, Literary and Debating Society, St. Thomas Aquinas Major Seminary - Executive, Cooperative Thrift and Credit Society (CTCS) Vanguard Media Limited - Editorial Adviser of NewsMakers Magazine - Assistant Secretary of the Police Community Relations Committee (Trinity Division) - Ambassador, Centre for Values in Leadership - Trustee, Society of youths for Positive Change International - Most Active Male of the First Democratic series participation, learning, action and youth Network, sponsored by National Endowment for Democracy, Washington DC. Obinna Nwobi M.D., President, NiPRO International USA – Tel: 973 230 0819 (NJ) Obinna Nwobi, a young Nigerian professional, who is a medical doctor, is involved in several non-profit organizations including American Friends Foundation for African Healthcare Services (AFFAHS) and International Children's Heart foundation (ICHF). His most impressive accomplishments includes organizing several medical missions to Nigeria the most recent with Kanu Heart foundation (KHF) where they performed lifesaving heart. Resident Surgeon, UMDNJ, New Jersey, USA Doctor of Medicine, University of Tennessee, USA B.Sc. English with Honors AWARDS & HONORS Black Tennessean Medical Scholarship ETSU Outstanding Achievement Award, English Department American Chemical Society Scholarship Award Golda Merrill English Memorial Scholarship Eastman Chemical Company Minority Student Award National Honor Societies: Alpha Lambda Delta-National Academic Honor Society for freshmen, Gamma Beta Phi, Omicron Delta Kappa, Sigma Tau Delta-International English Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi. Who’s Who among Students in American Universities & Colleges 1996 WORK EXPERIENCE Director, American Friends Foundation for African Healthcare Services (AFFAHS) and Director International Children’s Heart Foundation, Africa Co-chairperson Black Scientist Project, Student National Medical Association National Medical Association/Bluff City Chapter Fellow Segun Olufowobi President, NiPRO International Europe Tel: 07957442093 (UK) Segun Olufowobi, young Nigerian Professional, who majored in business and finance with post graduate studies in management studies. WORK EXPERIENCE President & CEO, The Flamebridge group of Companies, IT and Management Consultancy firms with multinational clients such as Nestle, ConocoPhillips Ltd., MI Service Ltd., Renesas Technology Group, Nike (European Operations), Quest International & much more. OTHER NiPRO INTERNATIONAL OFFICIALS IN NIGERIA Morayo Akabashorun (Assistant General Manager) Attained her associate degree at Mercer County Community College, New Jersey, USA where she was a recipient of the: Outstanding Student Award and Student Leadership Award, 1998; Honors Convocation Award, 1999; and Student of the Year Award, 2000. Thereafter, she attained her bachelor’s degree in Human Resource and Political Science at Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA where she was President of an African Students Organization known as TWESE. She served as a NiPRO Official in the USA before her return to Nigeria in 2003. Currently, she served her youth corps at City Express Bank Headquarters, Lagos. She until recently was the Human Resources Manager of CMC Connect (Perception Managers) in Lagos. She has excellent written, oral and interpersonal communication skills with a passion to empower and elevate young Nigerian women to higher level of professionalism Oluyinka Adeoti – Outreach Manager Akinmade Akinrimade – Business Development Manager Olajumoke Olawade- James- Public Relations Officer Babasola Bamiro- Business Development Executive Enyioma Anaba- Events Coordinator less

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core: 4 Status: Partly Free Overview Nigeria in 2006 geared up for general elections scheduled for April 2007. A proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed President Olusegun Obasanjo to run for a third term in office was defeated in the Nigerian legislature in May. A rancorous public feud between Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who planned to seek the presidency, led to competing charges of corruption and official misconduct. Separately, the government brought sedition charges against two journalists who had reported on a corruption scandal involving the purchase of a presidential jet. The military has ruled Nigeria for all but 16 years since independence from Britain in 1960. Generals and their backers argued that they were the only ones who could keep a lid on simmering tensions among the country's 250 ethnic groups, as well as between religious communities; the north is largely Muslim, while the south is mainly Christian. Nigeria initially appeared to be emerging from several years of military rule under General Ibrahim Babangida in 1993, when a presidential election was held. Moshood Abiola, a Muslim Yoruba from the south, was widely considered the winner, but the military annulled the results. It continued to rule behind a puppet civilian administration until General Sani Abacha, a principal architect of previous coups, took power in November 1993. A predominantly military Provisional Ruling Council (PRC) was appointed, and all democratic structures were dissolved and political parties banned. Abiola was arrested in June 1994 after declaring himself Nigeria's rightful president. He died in detention, after suffering from a lack of proper medical care, just five weeks after Abacha himself died suddenly in June 1998. The departure of the two most significant figures on Nigeria's political landscape opened possibilities for democratic change. General Abdulsalami Abubakar, the army chief of staff, emerged as the PRC's consensus choice to be the country's next leader, and he promised to oversee a transition to civilian rule in 1999. Olusegun Obasanjo—a former general who had led a military regime from 1976 to 1979 and had spent three years in prison under Abacha—won the presidential poll in February 1999. In legislative elections held that year, Obasanjo's People's Democratic Party (PDP) won the most seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives. Nigeria made its first peaceful transition from one elected government to another with the April 2003 election, in which Obasanjo won a second term. Electoral unrest, though anticipated, did not materialize, but there was violence leading up to the polls, which were marred by irregularities. While Obasanjo faced 19 opposition candidates, the race ultimately was between the southern, Christian Obasanjo and former general Muhammadu Buhari, a northern Muslim and member of the All Nigeria People's Party (ANPP). Obasanjo won with 62 percent of the vote, compared with 32 percent for Buhari, who filed a petition on behalf of some 20 opposition parties to nullify the election results. The Supreme Court in 2005 unanimously rejected the challenge, saying the fraud discovered was not enough to have changed the poll results. Obasanjo's PDP also dominated the 2003 legislative elections, in which at least 30 parties participated. The PDP won 52 of 109 Senate seats and 170 of 360 House seats. The ANPP captured 25 seats in the Senate and 81 in the House, while the Alliance for Democracy won 5 Senate seats and 30 House seats. Smaller parties secured the remainder. After initially resisting calls for a national dialogue, Obasanjo opened a national conference in 2005, warning delegates against questioning Nigeria's unity. Although Nigerians had long called for a national conference, the talks drew criticism from Obasanjo's opponents and members of civil society. About 400 delegates met for five months and failed to agree on fundamental issues, such as how to divide the country's oil wealth and how to effectively deal with religious and ethnic tensions. The delegates called for a special commission to devise possible solutions to those problems. Preparations for presidential, gubernatorial, and legislative elections scheduled for 2007 dominated Nigerian politics in 2006. In May, the legislature defeated a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed Obasanjo to run for a third term in office. Obasanjo's vice president, Atiku Abubakar, who had publicly opposed the amendment, announced his intentions to run for president. However, in September, the PDP attempted to expel Abubakar from the party, and the following month an official report accused him of corruption. He rejected the charges, claiming that the prosecution was politically motivated. The courts ruled in his favor in November, and he was nominated for the presidency in December by the opposition Action Congress (AC) party. Obasanjo's subsequent decision to remove him from his position as vice president due to his joining another party prompted further battles in court. Two prominent Nigerian politicians were assassinated in 2006, which raised fears of a bloody electoral campaign in 2007. In July, Funsho Williams, a leading Lagos politician and PDP member, was found murdered at his Lagos home. Williams had run twice for governor of Lagos State and had been expected to do so again in 2007. In August, Ayo Daramola, the PDP candidate for governor in southwestern Ekiti State and a former World Bank consultant, was stabbed to death. Rewards were offered for information leading to the murderers, but no one was convicted by year's end. In June 2006, agents of the State Security Service (SSS) arrested two Lagos-based journalists who had covered allegations that a presidential jet purchased by the government was a five-year-old aircraft from the German carrier Lufthansa and not a new jet bought directly from the manufacturer, Boeing, as the government had claimed. After several days in custody, the journalists were charged with sedition and released on bail. The case received local and international attention, as the journalists, Mike Gbenga Aruleba of African Independent Television and Rotimi Durojaiye of the Daily Independent newspaper, were well known and respected, and there seemed to be no grounds for the sedition charges against them. The head of the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission, Bukhari Bello, was removed from his position days after publicly criticizing the journalists' arrests as an affront to free expression and the rule of law. In August, Foreign Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala resigned from the government after being moved from her previous post as finance minister in June and having her position as head of a high-level government economics team stripped away weeks later. Okonjo-Iweala was known internationally for her efforts to combat corruption, and analysts said her resignation harmed Nigeria's credibility on economic reform. She had also been seen as a potential presidential candidate for 2007. The majority of Nigerians are engaged in small-scale agriculture, and most wealth is controlled by a small elite. The agriculture and manufacturing sectors have deteriorated considerably in the pursuit of oil, which accounts for more than 98 percent of the country's export revenues and almost all foreign investment. Political Rights and Civil Liberties Nigeria is not an electoral democracy. According to the constitution, the president is elected by popular vote for no more than two four-year terms. Members of the bicameral National Assembly are elected for four-year terms to the 109-seat Senate and the 360-seat House of Representatives. Local and international observers noted irregularities during the 2003 presidential and legislative elections, including ballot-box stuffing, multiple voting, alteration of results, and voter intimidation. Observers said fraud and intimidation were particularly prevalent in the southeast and in the Niger Delta. Major political parties include the ruling PDP, the ANPP, the National Democratic Party, the Alliance for Democracy, and the People's Redemption Party. Political parties represent a wide array of policy positions, and openly engaged in debate and electoral campaigning in 2006. In September 2006, seven opposition parties merged into an umbrella party called the Action Congress (AC), with the goal of wresting power from the PDP in 2007 general elections. Vice President Atiku Abubakar was nominated as the AC's presidential candidate in December 2006. Corruption remains a serious problem, having bled Nigeria of many billions of dollars in oil revenue. Nigeria was ranked 142 out of 163 countries surveyed in Transparency International' s 2006 Corruption Perceptions Index. The government has taken steps to improve transparency and reduce corruption, including reforming procedures for contract procurements and bidding. In September 2006, a top official announced that authorities had convicted more than 1,000 people of economic crimes and recovered around $5 billion over the past two years. In December 2005, the governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, was arrested in London after being impeached by the Bayelsa State Assembly and charged with corruption. Governors benefit from immunity from prosecution while in office, prompting state governments to begin impeachment proceedings against at least four governors on corruption grounds. At least two of those impeached remained underground and had evaded arrest at year's end. In May 2006, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission announced plans to investigate over a dozen more governors for corruption after the 2007 elections, when many will have had to step down because of term limits. Vice President Abubakar was also charged with corruption-related offenses in 2006, though he was eventually acquitted and claimed the prosecution was politically motivated. Freedom of speech and expression is constitutionally guaranteed and generally respected in practice. More than 200 private radio and television stations broadcast throughout the country, and scores of print publications operate largely unhindered. However, criminal prosecution continues to be used against journalists covering sensitive issues such as official corruption, separatist movements, and communal violence. In addition, Sharia (Islamic law) in 12 northern states imposes severe penalties for alleged press offenses. The government does not impede internet access. Local authorities regularly target journalists who criticize them. In 2006, two journalists in southeastern Ebonyi State were arrested, charged with sedition over an article criticizing the state governor, and kept in jail for over two months owing to stringent conditions for bail. The journalists, Imo Eze and Oluwole Elenyinmi, respectively director and editor of the local bimonthly Ebonyi Voice , were freed following local and international pressure on the governor, but the charges against them remained pending. The New York–based Committee to Protect Journalists has documented a pattern of media repression by the SSS, an elite corps that answers directly to the president. SSS agents have on occasion arrested journalists, confiscated newspapers, and harassed news vendors. In June 2006, the SSS arrested two journalists who had covered a corruption scandal involving the purchase of a presidential jet. They were charged with sedition and released on bail; the charges against one of the journalists were dropped before the end of the year. Religious freedom is guaranteed by the constitution, but many Nigerians, including government officials, often discriminate against those of a religion different from their own. Religious violence, often reflecting regional and ethnic differences and accompanying competition for resources, is common. Academic freedom is guaranteed and honored in practice. Freedoms of assembly and association are generally respected in practice. However, Amnesty International reported in 2005 that brutal repression of protests remained a routine tactic of Nigerian security forces in the oil-rich Niger Delta, and that communities protesting in the region often suffered collective punishment by security forces. In 2006, security forces clashed with demonstrators in southeastern Anambra State who supported the banned separatist Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra, known as MASSOB. The organization claims that ethnic Igbos suffer discrimination by the government and seeks a separate Igbo state in the southeast. Human rights groups report that dozens of pro-Biafran activists have been killed in the past seven years and hundreds have been detained. (A civil war in the 1960s, in which Biafra attempted to secede from Nigeria, claimed some one million lives.) MASSOB's leader, Ralph Uwazuruike, was jailed in 2005 on treason charges; he maintains that the movement is nonviolent. Despite several statutory restrictions on the rights of trade unions, workers—except members of the armed forces and those considered essential employees—may join trade unions, and the right to bargain collectively is guaranteed. About 10 percent of the workforce is unionized. Legislation passed in 2005 prevents umbrella unions, such as the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC), from calling strikes; such action is now decided by individual unions. The legislation makes union membership voluntary and gives unions the right to form outside the umbrella group. It also bans strikes in essential services such as health and education. According to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, Nigeria has "serious shortcomings" in the application and enforcement of core labor standards. The judiciary is subject to political influence and is hampered by corruption and inefficiency. Defendants do not always have legal representation and are often ill-informed about procedures and their rights. Lengthy pretrial detention remains a problem. In the 12 northern states where Sharia is in effect, human rights groups say Islamic courts fail to respect due process rights, which leads to harsh and discriminatory sentences. Nigeria's prisons are overcrowded, unhealthy, and life-threatening. In January 2006, the government agreed to speed up the trial of and/or unconditionally release up to 25,000 inmates out of an estimated total prison population of 45,000. Amnesty International reported that the effort was aimed at reducing prison overcrowding and improving access to fair trials. Nigeria continues to suffer from abuses by security forces and a climate of impunity. In 2005, Human Rights Watch said police still routinely torture detainees. According to the report, rape and mutilation are commonly used to extract confessions, and in various coercion techniques, suspects are suspended from the ceiling by their hands, beaten with metal objects, sprayed in the eyes with tear gas, or shot in the feet; sometimes the injuries result in death. A UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions said in 2005 that Nigerian police use armed robbery as a blanket charge to jail people when they refuse to pay bribes and to justify the unlawful killing of civilians. The local Centre for Law Enforcement Education in Nigeria estimates that police at checkpoints shoot about one in 20 motorists who refuse or fail to pay bribes. A human rights commission appointed by Obasanjo concluded that three of Nigeria's former military rulers were personally liable for extrajudicial killings perpetrated while they were in power. The commission recommended that all three men—General Babangida, General Buhari, and General Abubakar—be banned from holding high office in the future. The constitution requires government offices to reflect the country's ethnic diversity. The Hausa-Fulani from northern Nigeria generally dominated the military and the government from independence until Obasanjo was elected in 1999. Obasanjo's government is both ethnically and religiously diverse. Although the constitution prohibits ethnic discrimination, societal discrimination is widely practiced, and clashes frequently erupt among the country's many ethnic groups. A number of armed youth groups have emerged to defend their ethnic and economic interests. A national census was completed in March 2006, for the first time since 1991. The census could determine regional distribution of state revenues. However, in a bid to prevent ethnic unrest, it did not contain questions on religion or tribe. Ethnic minorities in the Niger Delta feel particularly discriminated against, primarily with regard to distribution of the country's oil wealth. Several militia groups, some based on ethnicity, operate in the Delta region and frequently target oil workers for kidnapping and extortion. Militants loyal to Niger Delta ethnic militia leader Moujahid Dokubo-Asari claim to be fighting for political autonomy and a bigger slice of oil revenues for the Ijaw ethnic group, the largest in the Delta region. Clashes between the Ijaws and their rivals, the Itsekiris, have claimed hundreds of lives in the Delta. News reports in 2006 cited an increase in violence in the Delta linked to the lead-up to 2007 elections. Nigerian women face societal discrimination, although educational opportunities have eroded a number of barriers over the years. In some ethnic groups, women are denied equal rights to inherit property, and marital rape is not considered a crime. According to a 1997 World Health Organization study, about 60 percent of Nigerian women are subjected to female genital mutilation (FGM), though the precise incidence is unknown. Although the federal government publicly opposes FGM, it has taken no legal action to ban the practice. Women's rights have suffered serious setbacks in the northern states governed under Sharia. Human trafficking to, from, and within the country for purposes of labor and prostitution is a problem. The government in 2004 outlawed human trafficking and set up an agency to deal with offenders. Culled from www.freedom. org less

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cy and in accelerating the rate of national development is treated in the study of adult education in India. Attempts have been made to: link adult education to major developmental and productive activities through programs such as the Farmers Training and Functional Literacy Project to increase agricultural productivity; use mass media to communicate programs and agricultural information; develop library services; develop voluntary organizations to carry out pilot projects and encourage public concern; and initiate adult education in urban areas for industrial workers to promote trade union leadership and provide access to continual training and education. Youth involvement in adult education promotes participation in community development, and adult education in universities integrates both the formal and nonformal education approaches. The period of the Indian Fifth Plan (1974-1979), crucial to the development and reorientation of adult education, demands increased financial allocations, the integration of adult education in the educational system, the entry of nonformal education facilities at all levels of education, the emphasis of mass participation in programs, the development of urban programs, and new programs for the staffing and training of personnel. (JB) Adult education can be traced back to biblical times. "Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding." (Proverbs) Adult education addresses three distinct sets of needs and goals: the needs and goals, of individuals, the needs and goals of the institution, and the needs and goals of society. Knowles (1970) commented regarding people needs concerning social involvement. "Every society has used adult education processes to continue the development of the kind of citizens visualized to be required for the maintenance and progress of that society; and the perception of each kind of adult required is different for each society. Winston Churchill, one of the world 's greatest leaders in the 20th century, stated it best. "The future of the world is, left to highly educated races who alone can handle the scientific apparatus necessary for prominence in peace or survival in war." There is, little question adult education in this country is only at the beginning of a period of rapid growth. Adult education enrollment in the public education system has indeed continued to grow proportionately faster than the general population. OVERVIEW OF ADULT EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE Adult agriculture education started in the United States after the American Revolution with the beginning of local and regional agricultural societies. In 1860, the United States Agricultural Society reported that there were 941 agricultural organizations in existence at that time. The passage of the Smith-Hughes Act (1917) sanctioned public school system involvement in the educational process for farmers. Specifically, the Smith-Hughes Act endorsed public school educational programs for present and prospective farmers. Subsequent vocational legislation has emphasized the importance of local adult vocational education programs. The adult education program in agriculture has reached a significant level of importance. Local public school systems should accept responsibility for offering adult education programs that meet the needs of the agriculture/agribusiness industry. Generation and application of agricultural knowledge demand that agriculturists pursue education beyond high school. Local adult agriculture programs can address that demand. Therefore, as provided, in federal vocational legislation, special classes should be provided for adults. 101 MISSION The mission of adult education in agriculture is two-fold, to provide the opportunity for educating adults for entry into agricultural occupations and educating adults for the improvement of job skills that empower them to be more productive and efficient in their current jobs or entrepreneurial enterprises. GOALS OF ADULT EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE The adult education in agriculture program provides individual and group organized instruction to agriculturists and consumers in the local community to... Become successfully established or to improve their current agricultural status. Improve understanding and communication between the general public consumer and the agricultural community regarding common concerns and issues. Improve the managerial efficiency through sound decision making for those engaged in production and non-production agriculture careers. BENEFITS OF ADULT AGRICULTURE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS Adult agriculture education programs are key in... Promoting Your School Identifying the school as the community education center. Maintaining closer communications between the school and the local community. Keeping the local agriculture education instructor current with local agricultural practices. Generating greater support for the in-school agriculture program. Creating a timely course of study for the in-school agriculture program using input from the local agriculture community. Improving utilization of school facilities and resources. Enhancing Local Economies $ Stimulating the local economy (research has indicated a return to the local economy of $9.00 for each $1 .00 invested in adult agriculture programs.) $ Developing communications between various agricultural agencies, and agricultural and non-agricultural sectors of the community. $ Improving local living conditions through service projects conducted by adults additionally attracts both industry and people to the community. 102 $ Improving economic efficiency of operations (research has indicated a return of $3.00 to the local farmer for each dollar invested in adult education) provides relatively less expensive agricultural products. Providing Students Opportunities to….. Develop leadership ability. Evaluate new ideas before adoption. Stay up-to-date with latest developments. Participate in farm family educational activities. RESPONSIBILITIES OF LOCAL LEADERS, ADVISORS, & MEMBERS The School Administration and School Board should assist in... Developing program(s) with input from the agriculture education teacher(s), the occupational advisory committee and its community. Securing and allocating financial resources required facilities and equipment. Providing an advisory council for establishing and continually advising the adult/young farmer program. Providing agriculture education teacher(s) with sufficient time to adequately serve the adult/young farmer educational needs. Promoting the adult/young farmer program. Evaluating teachers and reviewing, at least annually, the progress and status of the program with the teacher(s) and advisory committee. Completing reports and records necessary for administering the program. The Agriculture Education Teacher is responsible for... Becoming familiar with the funding proposal for the adult/young farmer education program. Working cooperatively with the occupational advisory council in determining community and individual needs and evaluating the program. Organizing classes, providing instruction, or securing resource personnel for instruction. Making follow-up visits to class members’ businesses or farms to assist them in applying knowledge and skills through individualized instruction. Maintaining records and submitting reports as needed. Securing enrollments for the adult/young farmer education program, and assisting in organizing, operating, and advising the local chapter. Promoting and publicizing program activities, accomplishments, and individuals. Local Members are responsible for... Being involved in planning, conducting, and attending local activities. Communicating the needs of the program with school board members and administrators. Recruiting new members. Affiliating with the state and national associations. In contrast to the traditional view, an approach to curriculum and learning called "constructivism" emerged in the mid-1980s and has excited considerable interest among researchers and educators (newman et al., 1989). While not developed from within the field of adult education, the tenents of constructivism seem to have important adult education applications. A constructivist view of learning suggests the following principles to guide the design of effective learning environments: 1. Learners bring prior knowledge and experience with them to class. Instructors do not "write on a blank slate." Rather, they structure learning situations in which learners can interact with new knowledge that is at an appropriate level of complexity and interest for learners to appropriate for their own use (called the "zone of proximal development"--ZPD--by the influential cognitive psychologist Vygotsky). This is the genesis of the term "constructivism," for it is the learners, not the instructors who construct the new knowledge, fashioning it to meet their own needs and capacities and integrating it into their own unique cognitive structures (sometimes called "schemata") (Berryman, 1989; Lave, 1988; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Newman et al., 1989; OTA, 1983; Vygotsky, 1978, 1986). 2. Knowledge is acquired from experience with complex, meaningful problems rather than from practicing subskills and learning isolated bits of knowledge. Human beings want to make sense of things, to put the puzzle together. Decontextualized instruction that presents "pieces" in one unvarying sequence fails to mobilize this powerful property of human beings to integrate input from diverse sources (Berryman, 1989; Lave, 1988; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Newman et al., 1989; OTA, 1983). 3. Skills and knowledge are best acquired in context. Previously it was thought that in order to make skills and knowledge more generalizable, most learning should be general and separated form the context of everyday life. Now, however, many researchers argue that context is critical for understanding and thus for learning, for context gives meaning to learning. The task for educators becomes to create multiple meaningful contexts for learning, so that learners can have the experience of applying knowledge in a variety of contexts, and to form their own means of transferring skills form one context to another (Berryman, 1989; Lave, 1988; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Newman et al., 1989; OTA, 1993, Vygotsky, 1978, 1986). 4. People do not easily or predictable transfer learning - either from school to "real life," from real life to classrooms, or from one subject to another. Educational experiences should help students transfer skills, concepts, and knowledge they have learned to new situations. This is particularly important for adults, because: (a) they are said to possess a unique, reflective capacity to look at themselves from outside themselves, called "metacognition," and (b) they are said to place particular importance as learners on realistic, rapid application of new knowledge to practical contexts and problems in their real lives (Knowles, 1984); Lave, 1988; Newman, 1989; OTA, 1993). January 2002 4 Stateline and adult literacy are not separate issues. As aresult, family literacy programs are spreadingacross the country. These initiatives address the needs of families as a whole, not just of individuals They are based on the premise that parents are their children’s first and most important teachers, and that a child’s scholastic success depends heavily on his or her parents’ especially the mother’s — skills and educational achievement. In recent years, several states have passed legislation to create state-supported family literacy programs, in addition to the federally supported ones. In the Midwest, Illinois gives the most state money for family literacy. More than $3million a year is dedicated to three statesupported family literacy programs.A bill introduced in Michigan would give school boards the authority to establish community assistance teams, which local school officials could charge with creating parental involvement activities and promoting family literacy. A proposal in Ohio would create a Parent-Child Home Program Fund, through which grants would be awarded in order to establish home-based parenting and family literacy initiatives. The Ohio Board of Education would administer the awarding of grants. Workforce literacy is another important component ofstate efforts — an area that will be a top priority for Watson in 2002. Illinois, like many other states, already has several programs designed to help businesses train employees who lack certain skills. “We’re trying to continue to build awareness [of the programs] and build those communication bridges, so that businesses understand what resources are available from the state for the employees they have who have basic skill needs,”Watson says.“Employers are finding out they can’t just replace [employees with basic skills needs]. That readypool of employees isn’t necessarily out there. They have to invest some time and effort and resources in providing some training for skills they weren’table to hire in.” by Laura Clewett In recent years, there has been much talk about the changes associated with the “new economy.”With the shift from an industrial, manufacturing-based economy to one based on services and technology, workers need a set of skills much different from what was required in the past. Much of the recent rhetoric and debate regarding education — both for children and adults — has been couched within this framework. Along with most everything else in the new economy, the definition of literacy has become more complex. According to experts, literacy no longer means just being able to read, write and do math. The “basic skills” needed to survive and prosper in today’s increasingly complex, technological world now also include computer literacy, interpersonal skills, problem-solving abilities and the capacity to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. Tom Ryder, an advocate for literacy programs during his 18-year tenure as a representative in the Illinois House of Representatives, argues that a literate citizenry is essential to meet the demands of today’s economy and that it continues to be a cornerstone of American democracy. “In order to have a well-functioning democracy, you need an educated population,” says Ryder, who recently left his legislative seat to take a job with the Illinois Community College Board. “Our founding fathers believed that education. was a necessity for our country’s government to exist. In addition to that, given the kinds of requirements in our economy, folks who don’t have those literacy skills are lost. They’re left behind.” Although there are many federally funded literacy programs, and although services are ultimately delivered at the local level, Ryder believes state government involvement is crucial. “I think the state is the major player,” he said. “At least in Illinois, the state is the entity that is providing both the governance and the structure for literacy and adult education.” In 1999, Republican Gov. George Ryan created the Governor’s Office on Literacy and accompanying Advisory Council on Literacy. As a result, Ryan’s senior-level staff includes Sarah Watson, the governor’s advisor on literacy. She helps assess needs and coordinate programs relating to all types of literacy, whether they deal with children, families, adults or the workforce. “Those of us who advocate for adult literacy are still very much in an education process of helping legislators and the general public Changes in economy underscore importance of adult education understand the impact of adult literacy on workforce issues, on the economy, on the growth of any given community, on bringing in new business,” says Watson, who adds that her position as a senior-level member of the governor’s staff is a unique one for state literacy advisors. In another notable change in Illinois, administration of adult education and literacy programs recently was transferred from the State Board of Education to the Community College Board, a move that Watson believes will have a positive impact on state programs and services.” Our State Board of Education really is and should be focused on pre-K through 12 education. And while they administered adult education, they were not advocating for it and they were not creating opportunities for growth,” says Watson, adding that members of the Community College Board are making “adult education and literacy an absolute priority, and they are providing the advocacy we’ve not had.” Recent action in Illinois reflects a growing emphasis on literacy nationwide, at both the state and federal levels. A variety of programs authorized under the new federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act will support literacy efforts. According to Tony Peyton of the National Center for Family Literacy, the reauthorized federal legislation includes two programs important to President George Bush’s literacy agenda — Reading First and Early Reading First. “These programs will direct nearly $1 billion a year toward preparing children to read by the end of the third grade,” Peyton says. The legislation also provides states with $1 billion in grants for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. less

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and in accelerating the rate of national development is treated in the study of adult education in India. Attempts have been made to: link adult education to major developmental and productive activities through programs such as the Farmers Training and Functional Literacy Project to increase agricultural productivity; use mass media to communicate programs and agricultural information; develop library services; develop voluntary organizations to carry out pilot projects and encourage public concern; and initiate adult education in urban areas for industrial workers to promote trade union leadership and provide access to continual training and education. Youth involvement in adult education promotes participation in community development, and adult education in universities integrates both the formal and nonformal education approaches. The period of the Indian Fifth Plan (1974-1979), crucial to the development and reorientation of adult education, demands increased financial allocations, the integration of adult education in the educational system, the entry of nonformal education facilities at all levels of education, the emphasis of mass participation in programs, the development of urban programs, and new programs for the staffing and training of personnel. (JB) Adult education can be traced back to biblical times. "Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom, and with all thy getting get understanding." (Proverbs) Adult education addresses three distinct sets of needs and goals: the needs and goals, of individuals, the needs and goals of the institution, and the needs and goals of society. Knowles (1970) commented regarding people needs concerning social involvement. "Every society has used adult education processes to continue the development of the kind of citizens visualized to be required for the maintenance and progress of that society; and the perception of each kind of adult required is different for each society. Winston Churchill, one of the world 's greatest leaders in the 20th century, stated it best. "The future of the world is, left to highly educated races who alone can handle the scientific apparatus necessary for prominence in peace or survival in war." There is, little question adult education in this country is only at the beginning of a period of rapid growth. Adult education enrollment in the public education system has indeed continued to grow proportionately faster than the general population. OVERVIEW OF ADULT EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE Adult agriculture education started in the United States after the American Revolution with the beginning of local and regional agricultural societies. In 1860, the United States Agricultural Society reported that there were 941 agricultural organizations in existence at that time. The passage of the Smith-Hughes Act (1917) sanctioned public school system involvement in the educational process for farmers. Specifically, the Smith-Hughes Act endorsed public school educational programs for present and prospective farmers. Subsequent vocational legislation has emphasized the importance of local adult vocational education programs. The adult education program in agriculture has reached a significant level of importance. Local public school systems should accept responsibility for offering adult education programs that meet the needs of the agriculture/agribusiness industry. Generation and application of agricultural knowledge demand that agriculturists pursue education beyond high school. Local adult agriculture programs can address that demand. Therefore, as provided, in federal vocational legislation, special classes should be provided for adults. 101 MISSION The mission of adult education in agriculture is two-fold, to provide the opportunity for educating adults for entry into agricultural occupations and educating adults for the improvement of job skills that empower them to be more productive and efficient in their current jobs or entrepreneurial enterprises. GOALS OF ADULT EDUCATION IN AGRICULTURE The adult education in agriculture program provides individual and group organized instruction to agriculturists and consumers in the local community to... Become successfully established or to improve their current agricultural status. Improve understanding and communication between the general public consumer and the agricultural community regarding common concerns and issues. Improve the managerial efficiency through sound decision making for those engaged in production and non-production agriculture careers. BENEFITS OF ADULT AGRICULTURE EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS Adult agriculture education programs are key in... Promoting Your School Identifying the school as the community education center. Maintaining closer communications between the school and the local community. Keeping the local agriculture education instructor current with local agricultural practices. Generating greater support for the in-school agriculture program. Creating a timely course of study for the in-school agriculture program using input from the local agriculture community. Improving utilization of school facilities and resources. Enhancing Local Economies $ Stimulating the local economy (research has indicated a return to the local economy of $9.00 for each $1 .00 invested in adult agriculture programs.) $ Developing communications between various agricultural agencies, and agricultural and non-agricultural sectors of the community. $ Improving local living conditions through service projects conducted by adults additionally attracts both industry and people to the community. 102 $ Improving economic efficiency of operations (research has indicated a return of $3.00 to the local farmer for each dollar invested in adult education) provides relatively less expensive agricultural products. Providing Students Opportunities to….. Develop leadership ability. Evaluate new ideas before adoption. Stay up-to-date with latest developments. Participate in farm family educational activities. RESPONSIBILITIES OF LOCAL LEADERS, ADVISORS, & MEMBERS The School Administration and School Board should assist in... Developing program(s) with input from the agriculture education teacher(s), the occupational advisory committee and its community. Securing and allocating financial resources required facilities and equipment. Providing an advisory council for establishing and continually advising the adult/young farmer program. Providing agriculture education teacher(s) with sufficient time to adequately serve the adult/young farmer educational needs. Promoting the adult/young farmer program. Evaluating teachers and reviewing, at least annually, the progress and status of the program with the teacher(s) and advisory committee. Completing reports and records necessary for administering the program. The Agriculture Education Teacher is responsible for... Becoming familiar with the funding proposal for the adult/young farmer education program. Working cooperatively with the occupational advisory council in determining community and individual needs and evaluating the program. Organizing classes, providing instruction, or securing resource personnel for instruction. Making follow-up visits to class members’ businesses or farms to assist them in applying knowledge and skills through individualized instruction. Maintaining records and submitting reports as needed. Securing enrollments for the adult/young farmer education program, and assisting in organizing, operating, and advising the local chapter. Promoting and publicizing program activities, accomplishments, and individuals. Local Members are responsible for... Being involved in planning, conducting, and attending local activities. Communicating the needs of the program with school board members and administrators. Recruiting new members. Affiliating with the state and national associations. In contrast to the traditional view, an approach to curriculum and learning called "constructivism" emerged in the mid-1980s and has excited considerable interest among researchers and educators (newman et al., 1989). While not developed from within the field of adult education, the tenents of constructivism seem to have important adult education applications. A constructivist view of learning suggests the following principles to guide the design of effective learning environments: 1. Learners bring prior knowledge and experience with them to class. Instructors do not "write on a blank slate." Rather, they structure learning situations in which learners can interact with new knowledge that is at an appropriate level of complexity and interest for learners to appropriate for their own use (called the "zone of proximal development"--ZPD--by the influential cognitive psychologist Vygotsky). This is the genesis of the term "constructivism," for it is the learners, not the instructors who construct the new knowledge, fashioning it to meet their own needs and capacities and integrating it into their own unique cognitive structures (sometimes called "schemata") (Berryman, 1989; Lave, 1988; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Newman et al., 1989; OTA, 1983; Vygotsky, 1978, 1986). 2. Knowledge is acquired from experience with complex, meaningful problems rather than from practicing subskills and learning isolated bits of knowledge. Human beings want to make sense of things, to put the puzzle together. Decontextualized instruction that presents "pieces" in one unvarying sequence fails to mobilize this powerful property of human beings to integrate input from diverse sources (Berryman, 1989; Lave, 1988; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Newman et al., 1989; OTA, 1983). 3. Skills and knowledge are best acquired in context. Previously it was thought that in order to make skills and knowledge more generalizable, most learning should be general and separated form the context of everyday life. Now, however, many researchers argue that context is critical for understanding and thus for learning, for context gives meaning to learning. The task for educators becomes to create multiple meaningful contexts for learning, so that learners can have the experience of applying knowledge in a variety of contexts, and to form their own means of transferring skills form one context to another (Berryman, 1989; Lave, 1988; Lave & Wenger, 1991; Newman et al., 1989; OTA, 1993, Vygotsky, 1978, 1986). 4. People do not easily or predictable transfer learning - either from school to "real life," from real life to classrooms, or from one subject to another. Educational experiences should help students transfer skills, concepts, and knowledge they have learned to new situations. This is particularly important for adults, because: (a) they are said to possess a unique, reflective capacity to look at themselves from outside themselves, called "metacognition," and (b) they are said to place particular importance as learners on realistic, rapid application of new knowledge to practical contexts and problems in their real lives (Knowles, 1984); Lave, 1988; Newman, 1989; OTA, 1993). January 2002 4 Stateline and adult literacy are not separate issues. As aresult, family literacy programs are spreadingacross the country. These initiatives address the needs of families as a whole, not just of individuals They are based on the premise that parents are their children’s first and most important teachers, and that a child’s scholastic success depends heavily on his or her parents’ especially the mother’s — skills and educational achievement. In recent years, several states have passed legislation to create state-supported family literacy programs, in addition to the federally supported ones. In the Midwest, Illinois gives the most state money for family literacy. More than $3million a year is dedicated to three statesupported family literacy programs.A bill introduced in Michigan would give school boards the authority to establish community assistance teams, which local school officials could charge with creating parental involvement activities and promoting family literacy. A proposal in Ohio would create a Parent-Child Home Program Fund, through which grants would be awarded in order to establish home-based parenting and family literacy initiatives. The Ohio Board of Education would administer the awarding of grants. Workforce literacy is another important component ofstate efforts — an area that will be a top priority for Watson in 2002. Illinois, like many other states, already has several programs designed to help businesses train employees who lack certain skills. “We’re trying to continue to build awareness [of the programs] and build those communication bridges, so that businesses understand what resources are available from the state for the employees they have who have basic skill needs,”Watson says.“Employers are finding out they can’t just replace [employees with basic skills needs]. That readypool of employees isn’t necessarily out there. They have to invest some time and effort and resources in providing some training for skills they weren’table to hire in.” by Laura Clewett In recent years, there has been much talk about the changes associated with the “new economy.”With the shift from an industrial, manufacturing-based economy to one based on services and technology, workers need a set of skills much different from what was required in the past. Much of the recent rhetoric and debate regarding education — both for children and adults — has been couched within this framework. Along with most everything else in the new economy, the definition of literacy has become more complex. According to experts, literacy no longer means just being able to read, write and do math. The “basic skills” needed to survive and prosper in today’s increasingly complex, technological world now also include computer literacy, interpersonal skills, problem-solving abilities and the capacity to adapt to rapidly changing circumstances. Tom Ryder, an advocate for literacy programs during his 18-year tenure as a representative in the Illinois House of Representatives, argues that a literate citizenry is essential to meet the demands of today’s economy and that it continues to be a cornerstone of American democracy. “In order to have a well-functioning democracy, you need an educated population,” says Ryder, who recently left his legislative seat to take a job with the Illinois Community College Board. “Our founding fathers believed that education. was a necessity for our country’s government to exist. In addition to that, given the kinds of requirements in our economy, folks who don’t have those literacy skills are lost. They’re left behind.” Although there are many federally funded literacy programs, and although services are ultimately delivered at the local level, Ryder believes state government involvement is crucial. “I think the state is the major player,” he said. “At least in Illinois, the state is the entity that is providing both the governance and the structure for literacy and adult education.” In 1999, Republican Gov. George Ryan created the Governor’s Office on Literacy and accompanying Advisory Council on Literacy. As a result, Ryan’s senior-level staff includes Sarah Watson, the governor’s advisor on literacy. She helps assess needs and coordinate programs relating to all types of literacy, whether they deal with children, families, adults or the workforce. “Those of us who advocate for adult literacy are still very much in an education process of helping legislators and the general public Changes in economy underscore importance of adult education understand the impact of adult literacy on workforce issues, on the economy, on the growth of any given community, on bringing in new business,” says Watson, who adds that her position as a senior-level member of the governor’s staff is a unique one for state literacy advisors. In another notable change in Illinois, administration of adult education and literacy programs recently was transferred from the State Board of Education to the Community College Board, a move that Watson believes will have a positive impact on state programs and services.” Our State Board of Education really is and should be focused on pre-K through 12 education. And while they administered adult education, they were not advocating for it and they were not creating opportunities for growth,” says Watson, adding that members of the Community College Board are making “adult education and literacy an absolute priority, and they are providing the advocacy we’ve not had.” Recent action in Illinois reflects a growing emphasis on literacy nationwide, at both the state and federal levels. A variety of programs authorized under the new federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act will support literacy efforts. According to Tony Peyton of the National Center for Family Literacy, the reauthorized federal legislation includes two programs important to President George Bush’s literacy agenda — Reading First and Early Reading First. “These programs will direct nearly $1 billion a year toward preparing children to read by the end of the third grade,” Peyton says. The legislation also provides states with $1 billion in grants for the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program. less