Cork community groups urged to seek funding for adult literacy initiatives

Community groups across Cork are being urged to apply to a €1m fund to address adult literacy needs.

The call was issued by the Adult Literacy For Life (ALL) Programme office, who are seeking community partners in Cork city and county to apply to their Collaboration and Innovation Fund. ALL is supported by SOLAS,

The aim is to fund groups to assist adults who have literacy, numeracy, and digital and financial literacy needs.

Approximately 700,000 adults in Ireland struggle with reading and understanding of everyday text, the latest figures from the Programme for International Assessment for Adult Competencies, published by the OECD, show.

The ALL Collaboration and Innovation Fund has supported 150 projects in communities across Ireland, with €81,870 awarded to 10 local projects in Cork during 2024.

These projects involved literacy through cooking, social farming, IT skills, comic making and English conversation resources.

“Projects delivered under the Collaboration and Innovation Fund have had a really transformative and positive impact across Cork city and county,” Veronica Bowen, regional literacy co-ordinator at Cork ETB, said.

“Through collaborative cross-community partnership, Cork ETB and partners have been able to engage many new groups across Cork.

“This has helped to build confidence with literacy, numeracy, and financial and digital literacy skills, and help individuals become more involved in their communities.

“I really would encourage partners in Cork to think about a community initiative that could drive positive literacy outcomes, and to apply to the fund.”

The deadline for applications to the ALL Collaboration and Innovation Fund 2025 is 5pm on February 7.

Information on how to apply is available at https://www.adultliteracyforlife.ie.