International Literacy Day is an annual event that takes place on September 8th. The day is intended to raise awareness about literacy’s importance and promote global literacy efforts. This year’s theme was “Transforming Literacy Learning Space” and we took this opportunity to rethink the prime importance of literacy learning spaces to build resilience and ensure equality and inclusive education for all. We used the role of Support Staff as educators in the early years of our schooling and their impact on us, as a medium to show how a person need not be a mere educator or mentor, every person regardless of their position in society, will teach and make an impact in your life. We gave the staff the chance to share their perception of education and even tell their story through their time with the school.

LO-1: Identify own strengths and develop areas for growth
One of my great strengths was being able to communicate effectively with the support staff. The didis and bhaiyas seem hesitant to be on stage and share their part of the story and experience. They seem shy and worried about presenting themselves in front of a big audience, but I could convince them by asking them to use whatever language they were most comfortable with and
also made sure to let the audience know before to respect and appreciate the efforts they were trying to make. I was worried at first about the audience, but they were very welcoming and warm towards them.

LO-2: Demonstrate the challenges that have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process
One of my biggest weaknesses is having an organized planning system. During the whole process, it was very difficult for me to keep track of the volunteers and my team members regarding the seating schedule, presentation, invitation, and much more. Some days I would even forget my meeting with the coordinators, but gradually I was able to keep up with the stuff
and even learned some techniques from my fellow members to not have a messy plan. I was able to run the whole event smoothly.

LO-4: Show perseverance and commitment in the CAS Experience
The main purpose to make this event successful was to be committed to the whole program. Lacking behind any task given and keeping it later made the whole planning more and more difficult. We had a lot of things and people at different levels to be catered to. Be it inviting teachers, explaining the whole concept, or instructing volunteers on every task that needed to be done within the time period given. The constant perseverance of me and my members was a prime reason for the success of the event.

LO-5: Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively
I can very well say that nothing mentioned above would have been possible without a good and cooperative team. I had two fellow teammates as coordinators with me, we made sure that we divided the work according to our strengths and helped each other when need a helping hand. The volunteers also were a great help in maintaining the decorum and preventing the chaos
from happening. Our grade mentors were also a great support to help us execute the idea.

LO-6: Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance
Quality education and equality regardless of the position they hold in society. The main purpose was to let the students know that education is not limited to class, books, and teachers, it is available everywhere. The supporting staff not only helps to maintain a good environment in the school but also influences us in many different ways, be it in good behavior or treating people right around them.

LO-7: Recognizing and considering the ethics of choices and action
Respect, kindness, and valuing everyone with equality were the core values that were taken into account in this situation. It was reflected in the way how we communicated with them and made sure this experience was special to the staff, they may be a little shy because they were presenting themself in front of a huge audience so we had to be a little more cautious and make them comfortable. Additionally, we wanted to make them feel respected and wanted to let the know that their efforts are not going unappreciated.