The June 2006 CMEC Forum on Adult Literacy, Investing in Our Potential: Towards Quality Adult Literacy Programs in Canada, featured presentations that compared Canada's performance on international literacy tests to that of other countries and stressed the need for innovative, coherent, and long-term government efforts to strengthen adult-literacy provision at the community level.
Keynote speakers addressed topics such as: how improvements in literacy result in economic and social improvements, with the benefits far exceeding the costs; the creation of a learning community in a city in Australia; and the history, objectives, implementation, and accomplishments of a national strategy for improving adult learning and language skills in England. Workshop themes included workplace literacy, measuring success, and developing quality programs. More than 150 policy experts and literacy stakeholders were in attendance.