GLOBAL LITERACY PROJECT LAUNCHES IN INDIA

The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology announced a new partnership with Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Prajnopaya Foundation based in India.

The three-year grant is a significant contribution to the Center’s work to improve English language literacy and social outcomes among children in vulnerable communities in India. Specifically, the Center’s Global Literacy Project will employ a self-driven digital learning platform to teach literacy skills to children in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Prior project work in Africa and the United States has shown that within a self-organized learning environment, children can quickly become skilled users of the technology, and can make rapid progression on early English language literacy. The project in Northern India will initially reach children in rural India with plans for further expansion.

The Global Literacy Project is a collaborative of the Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, the Tufts Center for Reading and Language Research, the MIT Media Lab, and Georgia State University. This collaboration allows for combined expertise in cognitive neuroscience, linguistics, interactive media, ethics training, and rigorous field research methods, to meet the ambitious goal of building communities of engaged learners. The platform will serve as a learning interface for STEM subjects as well as arts education in the future.

The Dalai Lama Center for Ethics and Transformative Values, through its Global Literacy Project, seeks to improve socio-economic outcomes, empower future ethical leaders and facilitate global transformation.