Around 300 educators and parents attended the 20th conference of the Bermuda Reading Association conference at the Hamilton Princess on Saturday.

Former Premier Jennifer Smith was given an award for her consistent support of literacy in Bermuda and the Bermuda Reading Association in particular throughout its development.

Dr. Lesley Mandel-Morrow, professor of Literacy and Early Childhood Educaton at Rutgers University Graduate school of Education and President of the International Reading Association, gave insights into promoting the value of early literacy and the benefits of pre-school education for producing literate and more functional members of the community.

Bermuda Reading Association spokeswoman Ameenah Ahad said statistics showed those who had started their education early were more likely to be employed and less likely to end up in prison than those who had not.

She gave practical tips on setting up language-based programmes in the class room at preschool and primary level.

Dr. Victoria Risko and Dr. Marino Alvarez talked about the value of making connections between students' experience and discovering new things. Dr. Alvarez is particularly excited about involving teachers such as Kelly Douglas, Sandys Middle School and David Chapman, Berkeley Institute in a scientific literacy programme which focuses on astronomy.