UC Childhood Literacy Expert To Advise National Commission

UC’s Child Well-being Research Institute Director, Professor Gail Gillon, has been appointed Education Commissioner for the New Zealand National Commission for UNESCO.

Minister of Education Erica Stanford announced the appointment yesterday, which is for a three-year term.

Professor Gillon (Ngāi Tahu iwi) is Director of the Child Well-being Research Institute at Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) and a world-leading expert in children’s speech, language and reading development.

As Education Commissioner, Professor Gillon will work with the National Commission to fulfil New Zealand’s obligations as a member state of UNESCO. UNESCO is the United Nations agency responsible for promoting cooperative action of member states in the areas of education, natural sciences, culture, social and human sciences, and communication and information.

Professor Gillion is delighted by the opportunity, which recognises her research team’s years of groundbreaking contribution to early childhood literacy in Aotearoa New Zealand.

“I am very much looking forward to working with the other National Commissioners to advance UNESCO’s goals and aspirations,” Professor Gillon says.

“Quality and equitable education for all is one of the highest priorities within UNESCO’s programme of work.UNESCO highlights that quality education is the pathway to economic growth, peace and sustainable development.

“Within New Zealand, our National Commission is supporting UNESCO’s aspirations within the context ofour unique Aotearoa New Zealand context, grounded in Te Tiriti o Waitangi principles and informed by Māori tikanga and values. I look forward to contributing to this work and in sharing our activitieswithin New Zealand with our UNESCO global partners.”

Alongside the prestigious appointment, Professor Gillion and her colleagues in the Child Well-being Research Institute will continue to deliver the Better Start Literacy Approach across New Zealand. So far teachers in some 900 primary schools and 45,000 five- and six-year-old children have benefitted from the team’s structured literacy programme.

To hear Professor Gail Gillon speak about the Better Start Literacy Approach, join the free UC Tauhere Connect public lecture:The Better Start Literacy Approach success story, on Wednesday 13 November 2024, 7pm-8pm at the University of Canterbury. Register to attend in person or online atwww.canterbury.ac.nz/ucconnect 

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