Laura Bush and Literacy

Krsna Harilela is a Senior Editorial Producer with CNN International and as a part of her job she arranges for high-profile interviews. A few weeks ago she traveled to Paris to produce an interview with Laura Bush for International Literacy Day. I know that Mrs Bush’s trademark interests are education and literacy and I wanted to get the inside scoop from Krsna!

Krsna: “It was fascinating on several levels, I was excited to meet the former First Lady- and being a fiend for news and all issues relating to US foreign policy… it was intriguing to meet a first hand witness to one of the most controversial presidents of our time. But there was a bigger reason to why we were there and that is because Mrs Bush was there as an ambassador for UNESCO and was there to highlight problems with literacy. 771 million adults cannot read…think about that… that to me seems outrageous… and I think collectively we can do better to put this right!”

Mrs Bush’s love for literacy has been reflected in all she’s accomplished so far. With her love to read books she became a teacher and eventually a librarian. When she became First Lady, she made education for children and women one of her main priorities. She has established The Laura Bush Foundation which raises funds to buy books for libraries in America. But she also uses her profile and her international travel to urge governments to invest in the education of their people.

She was also made an Honorary Ambassador for United Nation’s Decade of Literacy and in this position has hosted a number of conferences on global literacy.

“Literacy is at the core of sustainable solutions to the world's greatest problems. Literacy builds the foundation for freedom from poverty, freedom from disease, and freedom from oppression.”

Mrs. Laura Bush

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