The ‘Yes, I Can!’ Campaign: Cuba’s Contribution to Adult Literacy in First Nations Communities in Australia

• In Event: From Cuba with Love: Cuba’s Development Cooperation in the Asia Pacific

Abstract

This paper focuses on Cuban cooperation in educational development with First Nations communities in Australia. Since 2012, the ‘Yes, I Can!’ adult literacy campaign has run in 19 communities across Australia, led by a national First Nations organisation, Literacy for Life Foundation. ‘Yes, I Can!’ employs a community-led approach based on a Cuban literacy model that has been adapted to more than 14 socio-linguistic contexts in 30 countries. During this time, a small team of Cuban educators has supported local First Nations facilitators to adapt the model to teach English literacy in their communities.
The cooperation between Cuba and Australian First Nations communities forms part of a global literacy movement that can be understood within the paradigm of South-South Cooperation. Using ‘Yes, I Can!’ as a case study, this paper seeks to examine the potential of the Cuban approach to educational development for addressing the needs and rights of First Nations communities and other marginalised groups.

Author

• Andoni Laguna-Alberdi, University of Melbourne