Council of the Federation Literacy Award


The Council of the Federation  The Council of the Federation Literacy Award

Ontario's Winner of the Council of the Federation Literacy Award, 2008

Alfred Jean-Baptiste

Literacy Leader, Centre for Community Learning & Development

Toronto, Ontario

The Province of Ontario is pleased to announce that Alfred Jean-Baptiste of Toronto has been selected as the 2008 recipient of Ontario's Council of the Federation Literacy Award.

His leadership and creative approach to adult learning has helped raise the profile of literacy in Toronto and has increased accessibility to academic upgrading programs. He played a leading role in the development of Toronto’s first community-based pathway to higher education for adult learners and supported the creation of a highly-regarded consulting service that raises public awareness of the impact of inaccessible language on people at all literacy levels.

Born in St. Lucia, Mr. Jean-Baptise came to Canada in 1985 where he joined the Toronto East End Literacy Project (now the Centre for Community Learning & Development) as a program coordinator in 1989. He went on to become Executive Director in 1998 and has written several books and publications on literacy, equity and participatory research.

Alfred Jean-Baptiste is a true literacy leader—a tireless advocate for lifelong learning for adults and an inspiration to colleagues and students. Active in numerous associations and communities, he instils in students a sense of pride in their decision to improve their skills and knowledge and, by extension, their communities.

Ontario's Selection Committee

Mr. Jean-Baptiste was chosen by a selection committee consisting of three people involved in literacy programs across Ontario. The Province of Ontario would like to acknowledge the work of its panel of judges:

  • Geneviève Brouyaux has been a senior policy analyst at the Office of Francophone Affairs for the past three years where, among other projects, she is responsible for the education and training, colleges and universities files. Before that, she worked for three years at the Ministry of Education as a communications coordinator for the Ontario Parent Council. Education and communications have always been her area of expertise. Ms. Brouyaux began her career as a high-school teacher and has taught French as a second language to adults. She was later responsible for training and employment preparation programs at the former Collège des Grands Lacs and worked in communications at TVOntario for 15 years.
  • Michelle Eady is a past-recipient of Ontario’s Council of the Federation Literacy Award, and is the Distance Projects Coordinator at the Sioux Hudson Literacy Council in Sioux Lookout. She leads a pilot project there to reach adult learners in remote communities in northwestern Ontario. She has developed a number of distance learning courses to support people living in remote areas of the province, and regularly travels to those communities to provide in-person support and lead classes for hundreds of people.
  • Yvonne Morrison is an education officer with the Aboriginal Education Office of the Ministry of Education. She has been involved in education for 21 years, working as a teacher, facilitator, consultant, coordinator, and administrator. Yvonne has worked in both public and First Nation sectors at the elementary, secondary and post secondary levels, and also taught at an English language institute in South Korea. She is a member of the Waskaganish Cree FN and resides in Thunder Bay.