Österreichische Gesellschaft zur Erforschung und Förderung des Lesens und Schreibens
Austrian Literacy Association – ALA
The Austrian Literacy Association was established as the “Austrian Reading Association” in 1974.
The Association’s re-naming in 2010 signals its interest in adopting a holistic approach to reading and writing that corresponds to the salient features of the contemporary landscape of communication. While the Association regards both reading and writing as equally significant forms of communication, there is an intent to move the focus of the work more towards the mode of writing, without sacrificing in any way the more traditional orientation towards media more specifically associated with reading, such as the book. In that environment the increasingly dominant contemporary factors of “multimodality” and “multimediality” in which reading and writing have their place are the central interests and starting-points of the Association.
The main aims of ALA are
• to create a network of those who work in research, teaching and promotion of reading and writing in Austria,
• to disseminate knowledge, both in relation to current research, models of and experiences with the teaching of reading and writing, and its promotion, and
• to produce a public aware of the significance of current developments in relation to reading and writing and its effects on the micro-, meso- and macro-levels of societies.
For more information please visit the website www.lesenundschreiben.at