About NITEO
NITEO supports children and families to develop the literacy skills needed to build bright and hopeful futures. We do this through strategic global and Canadian partnerships.
We believe
We believe the ability to read changes lives. It opens hearts, minds, and doors of opportunity.
We believe that literacy thrives in community.
We believe that communities that are literate will thrive.
We believe that thriving literate communities are able to respond with abounding resilience, imagination, and insurmountable grit to address the ever-changing and complex needs of our world.
NITEO cultivates opportunities for children to explore their world, strengthen their identity, and develop their gifts through the power of literacy steeped in community
Our Strategic Focus for the Next 3 Years:
- Rallying around newcomers to welcome them into the Okanagan through family and literacy centered programs.
- Creating opportunities for cultural learning and exchange through community events.
- Toppling literacy inequality by getting 100,000 books into the hands of children in Uganda by the end of 2027.
- Resourcing local leaders in Uganda through funding literacy training & publishing grants
- Catalyzing community transformation through funding targeted literacy programs to the most vulnerable in Uganda.
We Will Do This By:
- Providing books for school and community libraries in Uganda.
- Funding literacy trainings for literacy leaders and teachers in Uganda.
- Offering Story As Community, a family reading program for newcomer families in the Okanagan.
- Offering Summer Programs for children ages 6-12 in Kelowna.
- Hosting Stories Around The World, a cultural storytelling festival for families in Kelowna.
Local Impact in the Okanagan
Global Impact in Uganda
“Life is hard, characterized with domestic violence, unwanted pregnancies, alcohol and drug abuse…but the library is their centre of hope.”
David Peter Omedo
NITEO VALUES
here are Our core Values
Reciprocity
Everyone has something to offer and everyone has something to learn.
Respect
All people will be treated with dignity. All opinions will be heard and valued.
Relationship
At the heart of literacy learning are healthy relationships – with ourselves, with others, and with our world.
Sustainable
Every participant becomes a conduit of literacy learning for others, which is not only sustainable, but an exponential investment in future generations.
Community
Literacy learning flourishes in communities, rather than in isolated academic endeavors.
Shareable and Accessible
We develop our programs so that they can be easily used, and we share our work to further literacy equity.
OUR DESIGN PRINCIPLES
How we do our work
We are invested in fostering a reading culture. This culture is informed by our Literacy Manifesto (see When You Give a Child a Book).
Our reading culture embraces a broadened sense of literacy. Literacy, by definition, is how we survive and thrive in a changing world.
We respect the worthiness of every child, family, and community and will hold space for personal and cultural actualization.
Our work rests in the development and maintenance of authentic relationships that are reciprocal and responsive, both locally and globally. There is no us / them.
We use the UN Sustainable Development Goals to inform our activities. We strive to decolonize our work, recognizing that the UN SDGs do not directly address Indigenous rights or definitions of wellbeing. We seek to develop meaningful partnerships with organizations / groups who share the same commitments.
We bring together different perspectives and voices, and look for solutions that are embraced by everyone involved.
We strive to make our literacy learning initiatives replicable so that they can grow, while maintaining their effectiveness and quality.
OUR SUPPORTERS AND SPONSORS (2024)
FINANCES
We are committed to financial transparency.
Explore how NITEO inspired change in 2023
Impact Reports allow NITEO to showcase the differences we make. Read about forming new partnerships and renovating libraries in Uganda, expanding Story As Community, and more!
Check out our latest financial statement
