Press Release: The Honorable Ganta Srinivasa Rao, Minister of Education of Andhra Pradesh, India, Visits U.S. in Support of Magazine Literacy

Mr. Ganta Srinivasa Rao’s tour in the US, where he is meeting with state governments and university officials, is meant to develop educational initiatives and build educational ties between India and the U.S.

In one such initiative, the U.S.-based MagazineLiteracy.org is teaming with education and business leaders in India to launch MagazineLiteracy.in, which will deliver magazines and comics to children and families throughout India. Magazine Literacy.in will work to improve educational opportunities in India via schools, mentoring, job training, and other local literacy partnerships, said Satish Babu, Managing Director, Magazine Literacy, India.

The partnership will follow a federated literacy model where local leaders leverage collaborative literacy ideas and tools to initiate literacy efforts that match the particular needs and the protocols in their own locations. MagazineLiteracy.org has formed partnerships with business, community, and literacy organizations resulting in the delivery of hundreds of thousands of magazines and comics to at-risk readers across the United States, and to children and families in Canada, the Caribbean, South America, and Africa, even reaching Inuit schools north of the Arctic Circle, he added.

“With titles for every reading age, interest, and language, magazines are the new face of literacy and enormously powerful, especially for reluctant readers,” said John Mennell, founder of MagazineLiteracy.org. “Like food and water, knowing how to read and education are essential for people to reach their full life potential. With partnerships like this, planted around the globe, we have the potential to reach millions more people hungry to read.”

“We are all citizens of the world. Civility, freedom, and prosperity depend on literacy - these are universal ideals, where comics and magazines are the most powerful literacy engines on the planet. The volunteers and the companies who collect and fund comics and magazines for literacy are our superheroes,” he added. “The government of Andhra Pradesh, India, its Honorable Minister of Education, Ganta Srinivasa Rao, and Satish Babu, Managing Director of Magazine Literacy, India, have seen a need and risen to it with their proactive support of this global literacy project. Dr. Rao’s travels in the US will lead to more dynamic partnerships that will create opportunities for citizens of both our nations.”

The Honorable Ganta Srinivasa Rao will be in the USA through June 6th.

Contact Info:
Linda Ruth
lruth@pscsconsulting.com