On 7 February 2014, the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Slovenia organised a themed panel discussion on reading literacy, where Dr Mojca Štraus presented the activities and preliminary findings of the project ‘Raising Awareness and Opportunities of Lifelong Learning for Low Achievers”.

The panel discussion pointed out that the findings of international and Slovenian studies indicate an inadequate level of literacy of Slovenian students and adults, which points to the necessity for a systematic approach to improving the reading literacy of Slovenian citizens. The need was also emphasised for this issue to be addressed by a wide spectrum of relevant stakeholders who should join in their efforts to deal with it in a planned and prudent way, with a focus on long-term effects.

Various experts gathered at the panel discussion and contributed invaluable experience and expertise for establishing the frameworks for the development of measures that will improve the reading literacy of diverse target groups in Slovenia. Dr Mojca Štraus presented some preliminary project findings which were shed light on further by means of views presented by other participating guests.