European Literacy Coalition launches in Brussels
How can Europe help more people develop the literacy skills they need throughout life? On 22–23 September 2026, the launch of the European Literacy Coalition brought organisations from different sectors together in Brussels to turn that question into shared action. Poland was represented, among others, by Dr Tomasz Makowski, Director of the National Library of Poland, and Maria Deskur from the Universal Reading Foundation.
The first day of the launch event opened with the presentation of the Warsaw Memorandum, the Coalition’s founding text. Developed following a co-creation workshop in Warsaw in May, it sets out a shared understanding of literacy, identifies key barriers across the life course and and invites organisations and individuals across Europe to take part.
That call for cooperation ran through the first day’s discussions. Speakers considered literacy as a public good and a shared responsibility, while preliminary findings from an ongoing study on Europe’s literacy landscape prompted discussion about how organisations can work together to support people of all ages.
On the second day, participants moved from a shared vision to collective action. In workshops, they exchanged ideas on how the Coalition can connect existing initiatives, support learning between organisations and strengthen effective action across Europe. Their contributions will help shape the Coalition’s work as it grows.
Literacy underpins learning, participation and resilience in a rapidly changing society. It reaches beyond reading and writing to include how people engage with information in a changing digital world, facing new challenges linked to misinformation and disinformation, attention and wellbeing.
The Coalition brings together educators and reading promoters, publishers, writers and illustrators, librarians and booksellers, researchers, technology and media experts, health workers and public officials, cultural and civil society organisations, families and learners and other fields to address this challenge collectively.
The Coalition welcomes organisations and individuals who want to contribute to its work. Read the Warsaw Memorandum to explore its principles, then join the Coalition.
More information is available at education.ec.europa.eu.
