Ei-iE

To help better prepare children between the ages of 0 and 6 for French-language schooling in minority settings, the Canadian Teachers’ Federation (CTF) will release at a Feb. 28th news conference a unique kit of resources intended for people who care for and work with young Francophone children in minority settings in Canada. The event ties in with UNESCO’s International Mother Language Day held every year on February 21, to promote linguistic diversity and multilingual education. Ensuring that mother languages, such as French, can survive alongside major international languages of communication is a genuine challenge both in and outside Canada.

Thanks to federal funding provided by Human Resources and Social Development Canada and Canadian Heritage, the CTF kit proposes sound learning activities that focus on language and culture in order to prepare children before they enter Grade 1 – all in a fun and stimulating way. The goals of the kit are twofold:

• to promote a common vision of how to prepare children for French-language schooling, and
• to help children start school ready to achieve their full potential.

Support from the Canadian Council on Learning will enable CTF to provide information and training sessions to key target groups nationwide. Here are the highlights of the news conference: When: Tuesday, 28 Feb 2006 Time: 10:30 a.m. Where: Charles Lynch Media Room, Centre Block, Parliament Hill Who:

• Roger Régimbal, CTF Vice-President
• Paul Taillefer, President of CTF’s Advisory Committee on French as a First Language
• as well as President of the Association des enseignantes et des enseignants franco-ontariens (AEFO)
• Madeleine Champagne, researcher-educator
• Liliane Vincent, Director of CTF’s Services to Francophones
• Canadian Heritage and HR & SD Canada representatives (to be confirmed)
• Marc Lachance, Associate Director, Canadian Council on Learning

Media kits and background information will be available on site. EI believes that it is one's human right to receive education in one's mother language.