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Beyond Words - Mona Jolly and Mussarat (Musi) Quereshi · WHAT I'VE LEARNT

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_02: Well, guided by purpose to build trust in society and solve important problems, the Price Waterhouse communities in New York know they have an obligation to the communities in which they live and work.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_02: At a time in which establishing trust is more important than ever, they work to not only support communities directly, but to empower their people to promote initiatives that align with their personal values.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_02: As they work to build that trust, they recognise that collaborating with other responsible business leaders, striving for similar goals, helps to benefit society as a whole.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_02: Well, literacy and financial literacy is critical to empowering all communities.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_02: As an organisation, one of their capability areas is around upskilling the workforce to be prepared to handle organisational transformations and market trends impacting the future of work.
• 0:54
  SPEAKER_02: So for them, it was a natural connection to be a part of the World Literacy Task Force, given their focus in these areas as well as the personal connections that Price Waterhouse Cooper partners Mona Jolie and Mussara Kureshi have personally.
• 1:08
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I'm thrilled to say that they've come to join me on the Beyond Words Global Literacy Task Force podcast to discuss the PwC support for the task force and how they're helping drive the critical literacy revolution.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you so much for joining me on the Beyond Words Global Literacy podcast.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_02: I can't wait to talk to you about everything to do with literacy and how important it is to help others in our community.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you, Deborah.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_02: So I'd like to uh first start by talking about how PWC has carved an important role in helping others in the community and where that stemmed from, and how do you choose who you help?
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: And it must be quite a quite a list because there's so much need in the community in the US.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I would say not just in the US, but globally, we as a firm um believe in the importance of the community and the world in which we um operate.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And so it's really important to us.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: One of our um missions as a firm is to build trust in society and to contribute.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: And so uh as you said, this is uh very near and dear to our heart, the World Literacy Foundation and Task Force, but it um largely because it is very consistent with our values as a firm globally.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that makes a lot of sense.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: And I think what they're driving and trying to achieve is to put the crisis of literacy with up to 750 million people globally not being able to read and write, which is still mind-blowing.
• 2:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they're trying to put that on the global map, and I think it's it's certainly, I mean, they exist in seven countries right now, of which obviously the US is a major party to.
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_02: Are you familiar with how much financial literacy, which I imagine is a big focus for PwC, how is that being impacted?
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: And how uh how do you how do you get to the people that need it?
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I would say uh literacy as a whole, whether it be um sort of traditional literacy in the reading, writing context, or financial literacy, all of them are dire needs in society.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: Um, there is no shortage of need.
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we as a firm do focus a lot on financial literacy and making sure that we're bringing the things that PwC is known for, our talent, our expertise, our staff to solving that problem.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we do contribute a lot in our societies in which we operate to support financial literacy.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_00: As you mentioned, whether it's being in schools with children at an early age, um whether it's donating to organizations that do that good work in the communities in which we live and work.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Um so financial literacy tends to be where we as a firm focus.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: But for Mona and I, when we learned about the World Literacy Foundation, this was sort of a complementary um organization.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um it we can, as I joke, uh walk and chew gum at the same time.
• 4:21
  SPEAKER_00: So we feel like the World Literacy Tax Task Force is um very deserving of our attention and very deserving of our time and energy.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: Mona, would you agree?
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Anything you'd add?
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I would definitely agree.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_01: And I think even, you know, uh after the pandemic, uh that I think for everyone sort of shown a spotlight on all the inequities that sort of exist in our in our in our country uh more specifically.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where I think a lot of our initiatives at PwC got started.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where uh PwC decided to um dedicate, you know, have our teams and our employees dedicate time to help battle racial inequity, to battle for against social injustice.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: And that's where it was the inception of a lot of our programs around like skills for society, CEO action for racial equity.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, to Moose's point, uh the World Literacy Task Force and the mission there is a natural fit to what PWC tries to help solve for in society.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: So it made sense for us to contribute um our capabilities there as well.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_02: So logistically and just in in practical terms, can you give me some indication of like how that actually works?
• 5:42
  SPEAKER_02: So, what is it that that you're bringing to the World Literacy Task Force that you feel is contributing and assisting what is a very big movement and hopefully getting good traction, which we're certainly seeing.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_02: But um I'd be interested to see how you think and and your point about after the pandemic, it sort of lifted the lid on what was already pretty, pretty traumatic time for a lot of people, but those basic skills just get put back by a number of years, particularly for young ones in in communities that are struggling.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: So uh I would say as we've engaged with the World Literacy Task Force, it's been everything that we would normally bring to, I would say, a traditional consulting engagement in some ways, at the risk of sounding like work.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: It really does uh sort of leverage a lot of the things that Mona, myself, and our teams do day to day.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where bringing the power of business to these social problems, I think, is really effective.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_00: As an example, thinking through the strategy of what should the task force focus on?
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: Um, should it be, you know, focused on n number of cities in the United States in the next n number of years, right?
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: How do we think about what should the mission be?
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: How do we frame up that thinking about the strategy, not biting off more than we can chew, but being aggressive in our goals so that we do have a very lofty uh ideal and we want to meet those targets.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_00: So setting the strategy, that's part of what we've been working with our other task force members.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: And then sort of more in the weeds, I would say, thinking about how do we execute.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_00: So everything from strategy to execution, as we say at PwC, um you know, building a plan, creating sort of rigor around execution, all of that project management that we would normally do, we're bringing that to the task force as well, such that we're thinking about the mission and the vision and the objectives along with our task force members, but then all the way down to the weeds and how do we execute this to make sure that we're holding ourselves accountable and delivering something in a reasonable time frame.
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it's really bringing business skills.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_02: And as you say, it's very important because I think often what happens, particularly with you know, in philanthropy or in pro bono situations, is that if you don't have that effective structure and you don't do it properly, it's very hard to get the traction.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_02: So your role is very important in ensuring that those structures are in place, particularly when it, you know, in September when they went to the, we went to the UN and you know, tried to basically ensure that there was a a conversation around literacy, um, ensuring that there was effective um structures in place is critical.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: And is that something that so so, in terms of where you see the future of the task force, do you think that we are carving that and your continued role, what do you see the biggest challenges are?
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: I would say um, I know you use the word ensuring the organizational structure.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: I think of us as um advising and sort of being part of the solution.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: So it's uh we're not able to enforce and we can't um make anyone do it.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: Everyone's there of their own volition.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_00: So a lot of what we're there to do is to advise on here's an effective way to do this.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, usually our task force colleagues and members are very open to those ideas, but it does mean that everyone has to collaborate and come together.
• 9:17
  SPEAKER_00: Um so that continued collaboration, I don't see it being a challenge.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: It never has been, but that will be necessary to be successful.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I agree with that.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's a good point.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and I think even, you know, the one of the sort of cornerstones of the way that we've started to build this out is, you know, we're we're starting in a couple of cities in the beginning and we're gonna learn things along the way.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_01: So maybe our first couple of cities aren't gonna necessarily be perfect.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, when we get into the third, fourth, and fifth cities in the US, we will have like refined, you know, learn some of the lessons from the first couple of cities.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_01: And so we've been calling them kind of a pilot or a test, and not to sort of take away any of the efforts from those pilot cities, but you know, we're we're doing them in a way where we can then leverage some of the lessons learned.
• 10:07
  SPEAKER_01: So when we get to some of the bigger cities, we know what to do and what not to do.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: So eradicating illiteracy in 50 cities in the US is the big mission of the task force.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_02: And it's it's a lofty one, but but how, and you pointed out correctly, Mona, that the idea of having pilots where you learn from that in order to get some insight into what the challenges are, just on the ground, what what sort of um when you talk about you know going into sort of uh piece by piece, one at a time, what does that actually look like?
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_01: And I think we're um we're learning that now and we're relying on you know our task force colleagues to help lead the way.
• 10:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I think even what they're finding is you know, we are using the resources of some of our task force colleagues that are actually deploying their own tools and their own kind of capabilities in these schools.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: They're going out there, they're you know, networking in the community, they're building relationships in these schools, they're deploying uh technology, they're finding ways to make learning and reading fun.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_01: And we're trying to then spread that story across the community.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, and then, you know, leveraging like PwC's capabilities, our own talent in some of these communities that can help service volunteers or where they need extra arms and legs.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: Some of our other task force colleagues are contributing the same way.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_01: And then hopefully we can sort of repeat that as they go into some of the next cities.
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_01: And oh, we have a lot of uh task force members that are ready to commit resources in some of their hometowns too.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_01: So it should be really exciting to see what's to come.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_02: I think also your point of there's a nice personal aspect, and I note that the mission of PWC is to try and get people involved in things like passion projects, things that that resonate for each person.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_02: So for both of you in communities that either you've grown up in or that you you're aware of, you know, is this something that you see day to day, this this ongoing issue of literacy, either financial or literature literacy?
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_02: What's what's your observation?
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_00: I I I know when we first joined the task force, Joseph had pointed us, um, had asked this a similar question, and I pointed out that I um was born in Bangladesh and grew up in Asia.
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: So I grew up in Thailand, in India, um, having only come to sort of the West, if you will, as an adult.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: And so for me, this has been close to me ever since day one.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, there are pockets of um my home country that really still struggle with um literacy, basic literacy, in addition to financial literacy, but basic literacy amongst children, adults.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so to me, it's always been a bit of a passion project.
• 13:02
  SPEAKER_00: Even as a child, I did volunteering and things like that.
• 13:05
  SPEAKER_00: But now living in New York City in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, I don't think we as a country in the United States have solved the problem clearly.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it doesn't matter.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think one of the things that we all learn as we get older, we are more similar than we are different.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and so even living here in New York City, I see this is still a problem today.
• 13:26
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm happy to do whatever.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's a small piece, uh, it's all small contribution, but whatever we're doing, um, hopefully we'll contribute in some meaningful way um in the near term and then obviously over time in a more meaningful way.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that's really interesting, actually, Missy, to to hear where you've come from.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_02: It's a very, it's a it's a long journey.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: And I mean, Bangladesh certainly has, you know, major, major issues around poverty and illiteracy, um, India, obviously.
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_02: So for you, is it um is it something that were you a bit stunned at how prevalent it was in the US as well?
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: Because you sort of think of such a Western advanced country not having the same issues, but the stats are really quite staggering, aren't they?
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_00: The stats are staggering.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_00: I would say in some ways, Bangladesh has made leaps and bounds further than the United States.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_00: Perhaps we focus more energies on it, more resources.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, you know, we've uh done a lot in Bangladesh.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope that the US is doing similar things in the next decades to come.
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_02: Very interesting, isn't it, to reflect on that, how we, you know, focus in one way um in one direction and overseeing, and there's an oversight in the other direction.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_02: So that's a very good point, actually.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: So you take with you, in a sense, uh, coming back to the original notion of the personal journey and how reflecting on that has been a useful resource for you moving forward in your role helping the World Literacy Task Force.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_02: And what about for you, Mona?
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_02: Um how does it resonate for you?
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, I think similarly growing up, you know, I loved reading as a kid and you know, I found so much joy and like, you know, it just like sparks a different side of your brain to have like the ability to read and like make up and see and visualize stories in your head.
• 15:19
  SPEAKER_01: And then as a young adult, I um, you know, I'm from India and I also learned to read and write Hindi as a teenager.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_01: And I remember, I mean, it was, you know, learning to read a different language, but then going back to India, I would be able to, you know, suddenly read things that I had never had the ability to before.
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_01: And it it gives you so much more freedom and confidence and it like widens your lens on the world.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: And it was in a way that I didn't see as a child when you sort of learn to read.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think if yeah, and I think like you know, to be able to give that to somebody, and it's just like table, like it should be table stakes, and we all should just know how to read.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: And I saw a stat to even today that's like one in three children in the United States are at risk of being illiterate, and that's just like it's a it's a crazy number, and it it shouldn't be like this should be a very basic thing that we can solve for.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_02: I think that's a good point.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_02: And and also what you were saying is so are you saying that you learnt to read and write as a teenager, not as a young child?
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_02: Is that what you were referring to?
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, um, yeah, I I learned to read and write Hindi, which is I guess my my family's native language as a teenager.
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: So no, I find that interesting.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_02: So, so then you know what you're saying is though that you learned to write English, read and write English as a teenager?
• 16:41
  SPEAKER_02: Is that correct?
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: Oh no, sorry.
• 16:43
  SPEAKER_01: I learned to read and write English growing up, you know, in in elementary school.
• 16:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, yeah.
• 16:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but learning how to read and write Hindi, which is like you know, what my parents and I spoke at home and what my family in India speaks, I could speak it, but I never could read it.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: And so when I would go back to India, it's like you don't know what is going on, you don't know what people think, you don't have to know what's written in the newspapers.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: But then as a teenager, actually learning to read it, it g and then you know, actually and practicing it, it gives you like a new lens on the world.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_01: And it gives you so much more confidence.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_01: Like when you're in another country, you're able to have that, you know, it's like an advantage.
• 17:23
  SPEAKER_02: It's a huge advantage and such a disadvantage when you don't have it.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_00: That's just gonna say it is, and one of the things as a task force that we've talked about in the spirit of focusing our efforts and not trying to do everything for everyone is to focus on the teen population in the United States.
• 17:42
  SPEAKER_00: So we've talked about starting with 10 cities, we've also talked about prioritizing that sort of 12 to 16, 12 to 18 year old age range, because there are efforts underway for children usually.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: But if you've missed that chance to learn to read and write and, you know, developed those skills as a child, there aren't that many safety nets at the teen age.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_00: So um, as a task force, one of the things we have talked about is talking prioritizing the 12 to 18 year olds and the literacy needs of that population as a subset of all the literacy needs.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that's very important to highlight, thank you, because yes, I know that's very much a focus.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: And it's hard to imagine that as a teenager, but what you're saying is if you've missed that first entry point, um, the challenge is making sure that you get them before they become fully fledged adults.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_02: And that's a big mission for the task force.
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_02: And also it's quite a challenging time to access teenagers.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_02: So, what do you, you know, what have you seen?
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, what are some of the best avenues to get to teenagers?
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_02: Is it through the school system primarily?
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: So we absolutely have some of our task force partners have great relationships, as Mona was saying earlier, with the school systems, and that's absolutely a primary way.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_00: But, you know, as I put on my um, I guess my business lens, we often talk in the digital banking space about meeting customers where they want to be met and having mobile apps and digital tools that, you know, um are the next generation uh technology for clients and customers.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: I would say the same thing should apply here, right?
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: If teenagers are more attracted to and have access to technology, whether it's a smartphone, whether it's at public libraries, that's where we should be.
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_00: That's where we should be offering literacy tools so that we are serving the community that we're looking to serve.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't make any sense if we have books and we're sitting there and nobody comes to read.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_02: I think that is such a valid point because if people, you're right.
• 19:51
  SPEAKER_02: And also teenagers can sometimes be quite resistant to, and assuming they're in school, they have some fundamental access, obviously.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_02: So obviously, it's it's teenagers who are maybe not in the school system that you've got to find ways to access.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_02: Those that have been resistant to school and and being present is also another avenue.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_02: And so your digital um literacy reference is very important.
• 20:14
  SPEAKER_02: And I know that there's some incredible work being done through the World Literacy Foundation and a whole raft of strategies to make sure that we have a that there is a digital program on many fronts.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um do you think it's it's is it tenable to to to get the traction that we're hoping for?
• 20:33
  SPEAKER_02: Are you hopeful?
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_02: I am.
• 20:36
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, 100%.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_02: And in terms of PWC, the the resources that you find, what what what are some of the team, the team members there, are they they excited by the prospect of being involved in such a really quite a pivotal mission?
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, our team, um, I mean, they live on this stuff, like uh, you know, and we have our day jobs, but really our team gets so excited to participate in um, you know, what we're calling skills for society kinds of projects.
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: And, you know, we've had so many success stories for you know, working on not just the task force, which you know, we do have some team members working on as well, and also, you know, uh diversity, equity, and inclusion projects, community passion projects that our team members have founded and connected with, you know, local organizations themselves.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_01: And uh, you know, when we approach some of our team about this project, people are lining up and we had you know more people than uh you know than we actually need uh volunteering for this work.
• 21:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and people get really excited and you know they're willing to spend time after hours uh you know, and when they have some spare time working on working on the task force work.
• 21:49
  SPEAKER_02: So it's giving me yeah, that's and isn't that great when you get an over you get too many people putting their hands up.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_02: That's the best.
• 21:57
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so so it have you got any stories?
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_02: Or any anecdotes of anyone who's come across a great um opportunity in this area, like that you has actually worked on the ground?
• 22:08
  SPEAKER_00: Partnering with some of the other task force members to do that.
• 22:11
  SPEAKER_00: So I think we're hesitant to share maybe the details.
• 22:15
  SPEAKER_00: But um I know that from the PwC side, the support that we're providing to the task force, we've had folks participate as I as we were describing, right?
• 22:24
  SPEAKER_00: Part of what we're here to do is bring not just the strategy and the big thinking, but some of the project management rigor and skills.
• 22:31
  SPEAKER_00: And so we have volunteers who are rolling up their sleeves, helping to build um sort of, I would call it missions and plans and um project plans with milestones and that level of detail because people are interested and they see the value in bringing what we do in our day jobs to something like literacy.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: It doesn't just mean going into schools and um, you know, walking the hallways and reading books to students.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: It absolutely is that, but it's also helping the task force be structured and organized and effective.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so I think that maybe that's where we as a firm, PwC, has a breadth of skills that we can bring.
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: And hopefully the task force is going to benefit from the variety of them, not just one or two.
• 23:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, I think that's a that is actually worth mentioning because it is as well as the oversight and the and the sort of the broader context, but there is also that aspect which uh that's what I was interested in, is you know, going and reading to young kids and and being in the local community and being very much in touch as well as the big picture stuff.
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, completely agree with Lucy that uh, you know, it's even though it sounds like a task that's sort of menial around like building a project plan, we have people raising our, you know, their hands.
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_01: And I mean, remember a few weeks ago, Lucy and I were, you know, we're doing a whiteboarding session with one of our team members, like building what this roadmap should look like.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: And uh and you know, even if they're just listening in on some of these calls that we have with the task force, they're willing to, you know, work after hours, listen in and see what's gonna happen next and where they can contribute.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_01: So people are very proactive and wanting to participate.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: Well, that's wonderful.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: Um, we are fortunate to have a pretty large firm at PWC, both globally, but even in just in the US.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: We have offices and locations in every city, every state.
• 24:25
  SPEAKER_00: And so as the task force is thinking about what will be the next N number of cities, right?
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: We it might be 10 first and then another 10, et cetera.
• 24:35
  SPEAKER_00: We have local presence, whether that be PWC offices, staff that happen to live somewhere, especially after the pandemic, people have moved to all parts of the country.
• 24:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm excited to see what that brings.
• 24:47
  SPEAKER_00: We haven't tapped into all of that yet, but I think that will be another opportunity to see.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, if we're doing something in Nashville or in um Austin, we probably have PWCers in each of those cities ready to go.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_02: Well, that is a huge benefit.
• 25:03
  SPEAKER_02: It's a massive benefit because also it's local and that's where you get the best traction.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_02: And in terms of what you see moving forward, what are your what are your hopes for the future?
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_02: What and also do you think that um literacy has been put firmly on the map?
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_02: I know the World Literacy Foundation has certainly marked its imprint on many countries, but are you getting a sense that by talking to your local people and working with your team members that it's going out through?
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_02: And there's a conversation, a very big conversation around literacy.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think the the work that the foundation does, the work that the task force is doing, um, you know, both at grassroots in communities, but also at things like the Oxford Summit, bringing together different people from different walks of life to tackle the problem.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's where this begins, is having people who are sitting up and taking notice, and then people who are willing to contribute to solving the problem.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_02: And the universality of the problem is also very important.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_02: That's what they've brought together is this sort of centralized organization of which you are both now tapped into.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's the universality of the problem, and that, you know, if we work together, we're gonna get a much better outcome.
• 26:19
  SPEAKER_01: And it's finding those underrepresented communities too.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, actually targeting the schools and the communities that that really need it the most.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_01: And I think, you know, some of our task force colleagues have already done a great job targeting and pinpointing those communities that need it and already starting to see results.
• 26:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I think what will be cool to see in a few months is you know, the these tools and capabilities that our fellow task force members have to get the data to show, hey, you know, a a child can is taking X more number of minutes and hours reading.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_01: We're seeing like these numbers tip up for people who are reading, for scores going up, for you know, grammar changing and and speech patterns changing.
• 27:07
  SPEAKER_01: It's it's gonna be really interesting to see what all that looks like in the coming months.
• 27:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and I totally agree, Mona, because actually by doing that, we're we're starting to actually watch and see, and therefore we can find better solutions according to that data, what comes through.
• 27:22
  SPEAKER_02: Well, I'd like to thank you both for joining me on the Beyond Words podcast.
• 27:27
  SPEAKER_02: It's been an absolute pleasure, and I think the work that you're doing is really wonderful, and it means I know it means a lot to the team at the World Literacy Task Force, and I look forward to maybe speaking to you again further down the track in you know in a few months and just see where where it's all going.
• 27:45
  SPEAKER_02: But your roles and your contribution and commitment to the World Literacy Task Force and to the mission of literacy and improving literacy globally is much valued, and I look forward to speaking to you again.
• 27:59
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 28:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having us.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_03: Well at the World Literacy Foundation we believe in literacy is the foundation of lifelong learning and education.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_02: People who cannot read or write experience difficulties with simple everyday tasks, such as reading the label of a medicine model, filling a job application, or understanding traffic sign.
• 28:28
  SPEAKER_03: When we help someone to acquire literacy skills, we are empowering them to access to better opportunities to break the public cycle, and Africa, Latin America, United States, United Kingdom, and Australia.
• 29:02
  SPEAKER_03: So please head to our website to see what is happening out of the way with its own organization and realize that it's 75 million points and operating life.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_02: So see if you can contribute and make a difference.