Strong Foundations
ALIGN-FLN unites global partners to strengthen early reading and numeracy, ensuring every child learns with understanding and builds confident lifelong skills.
10-11 February 2026 in Lucknow
ALIGN FLN
Alliance for Global Foundational Literacy and Numeracy.
Our Vision
A world where foundational literacy and numeracy are non-negotiable, universally achieved, and measurably strengthened in the early grades.
Our Commitment
Every child deserves the chance to read, understand and calculate confidently by the early grades. We’re committed to closing the FLN gap through collaboration, evidence and recognition.
About ALIGN FLN
- Here's the thing. FLN isn't a minor concern, it's the ground everything else stands on. When children can't read or handle numbers early, all later learning is compromised.
- ALIGN‐FLN exists to bring clarity and alignment to the global FLN movement.
- We connect governments, NGOs, CSR partners, institutions and researchers so their
efforts don't run parallel, they reinforce each other.
And 26 November 2025 is where a significant part of that alignment comes alive.
WHY FLN Matters Now
A global crisis
Nearly 70 percent of children in low and lower-middle income countries struggle with basic reading by age 10. COVID only made the gap wider. Progress is slow because efforts are scattered.
India’s challenge
NIPUN Bharat set ambitious goals, but learning gaps persist. Innovations have seen success in states such as UP, Himachal, Jammu, West Bengal, Haryana, Ladakh, Telangana, and Arunachal, but scaling them needs improved coordination.
26 November puts that coordination front and centre.
Who We Are
ALIGN–FLN is powered by organisations that have spent years building, studying and scaling high-impact FLN work. Together, they form a backbone capable of moving systems, not just classrooms.
Global Advisory Committee
Aïcha Bah DialloGuinea
Founding Member of FAWE
Alesha AndersonUSA
Senior Program Officer at Pro-Literacy Worldwide
Alexandre RomanovskyUSA
Advisor to companies dedicated to the United Nations
Bill GrahamUSA
Vice Chair, NGO Committee for Education, Learning & Literacy at the United Nations in New York
David J. RosenUSA
Director, Adult Literacy Resource Institute, University of Massachusetts
David BovillUK
Partnerships Manager, DEIP
Ernesto SchifelbeinChile
Chilean Pedagogue, Professor, Economist & Politician
Fred MednickUSA
Founder, Teacher Without Borders
Chetnaa MehrotraIndia
Founder, Applied Theatre Organisation (Rangbhumi)
Chris MacraeUSA
Head of Talent, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at GlaxoSmithKline
Cindy CharlesGuyana
Kupanda Sisters Inc. Founder & CEO
Inger-Mette StensethNorway
Founder, World Climate School
Gail Davvis-CarterUSA
UN ECOSOC Representative, UN Partner and Social Entrepreneur
Girish MenonUK
CEO, STIR Education
Joanne Telser FrereUSA
Director, Program Development
Jon M CorippoUSA
Author, Eduprotocols
Kyle ZimmerUSA
Author, Eduprotocols
Mary McCool BerryUSA
Founder, Read Keys
Michael MatosUSA
Education Technology Director, ScaleLIT
Navneet AnandIndia
Director, GreyMatters Communications & Consulting
Nicolas GravelFrance
Professor of Economics, Aix-Marseille University
Nixon JosephIndia
CEO, Children's LoveCastles Trust
Peter CamplingUSA
Global Programmes Director
Peter Kwasi KodjieGhana
Secretary-General All Africa Students Union
Rana DajaniJordan
President, We Love Reading
Ravi SreedharanIndia
Founder & President, Indian School of Development Management
Rebecca ZvomarimaZimbabwe
Founding Director, Vadiwa Trust Organization
Richard AllenUSA
Director of Partnerships, VOYCE
Robert ThornTurkey
Director, Developing Real Learners & Academy of Learner Development
Samuel Sasu AdontengGhana
Programmes Officer for Tertiary Education, AASU
Sigamoney NaickerSouth Africa
Professor, University of the Western Cape
Sigbjorn DugalNorway
Founder, Pickatale
Stephen PetersUSA
President, The Peters Group
Sylvia GuimarãesBrazil
Co-founder & President, Vaga Lume
Vicky ColbertColombia
Founder and Director, Escuela Nueva Foundation
What We Do
Everything we do ties back to our core goals.
Share what works
We surface best practices and models proven in the classroom.
Not theories. Evidence-backed solutions that can scale.
Celebrate leadership
Through the ALIGN–FLN Samman Ceremony, we honour individuals and organisations that are spearheading or supporting FLN initiatives across the world — from policymakers pushing reforms to NGOs and CSR teams driving impact on the ground.
Create spaces for alignment
Our conferences, FLN Fairs and global dialogues bring together every stakeholder group so learning is faster and decisions are smarter.
Generate evidence
We support rigorous research implementations to measure FLN gains and guide decision-making.
Strengthen scale-up
Through accelerator labs and technical support, we help promising FLN innovations become scale-ready.
What We Do
Everything we do ties back to our core goals.
ALIGN–FLN Samman Ceremony
One of ALIGN–FLN’s key goals is recognising the people who make FLN progress possible but often remain unseen.
The Samman Ceremony honours:
Policymakers bringing bold reforms
CSR leaders investing strategically
Institutions delivering strong FLN outcomes
NGOs driving change on the ground
Researchers building actionable evidence
Community leaders sustaining local learning
Each award is tied to evidence, impact and a model others can learn from — which directly reflects our goal of sharing best practices based on proof, not assumption.
What Happens on 11 February
On 11 February 2026, ALIGN‐FLN joins hands with the Ed Leadership International Roundtable to host the FLN Fair at City Montessori School, Lucknow — a gathering designed for policymakers, education leaders, CSR heads, NGOs and innovators.
Visitors will:
- Experience the ALfA pedagogy live — a model that has scaled from 20 schools to 35,000 in just three years
- See real results from states adopting the approach
- Meet teams implementing ALfA in government schools
- Connect with researchers and decision-makers
- Understand how research implementations work in real classrooms
- Explore low-cost, low-carbon learning materials, teacher training tools and assessments
If you’ve been looking for evidence, clarity and direction in FLN — the 26 November FLN Fair is where it all converges.
Governance
ALIGN–FLN is guided by an International Advisory Board of global education leaders, researchers, philanthropists and policymakers who help keep the work strategic, ambitious and grounded in evidence.
Our Purpose
ALIGN–FLN exists to bring direction and coherence to the global FLN movement.Our goals are clear:
Align Efforts
Align efforts from governments, NGOs, CSR, institutions and researchers so everyone pulls in the same direction
Share best practices
Share best practices backed by strong evidence, so states and organisations can leapfrog instead of reinventing
Honour FLN Leaders
Honour people and organisations who are leading or supporting FLN initiatives worldwide — policymakers, CSR teams, institutions, NGOs and frontline champions
Global Community
Build a global community that learns from each other and acts with urgency
Elevate FLN Worldwide
Push FLN to the top of national and global education agendas
What this really means is that ALIGN–FLN isn’t just a network. It’s a movement built on evidence, collaboration and recognition.
blogs & articles
article
The Hindu in School
Is fear a healthy emotion?
Yes and no. Fear is a built-in alarm. It keeps us alert, like heat from a fire that tells us to step back. But when fear grows too big or stays too long, it stops children from trying, learning, and enjoying life. That’s when they need tools, not just comfort, to face it.
blog
Times of India
When Stillness Comes in the Way of Learning: The Hidden Cost of Ignoring Movement in School
Walk into almost any school in India, and you'll see the same picture, a classroom full of children sitting still, too still. Their backs are straight, hands on the desk, lips sealed.
blog
The Hindu
When One-Way Teaching Wears a New Disguise: Why Paired Learning Is the Break Schools Actually Need
Walk into many schools today and you’ll see smartboards, colorful furniture, maybe even project-based units. The factory model, we’re told, is behind us.
article
BW Education
From Rote to Real Learning: Strategies Schools Can Start Using Today
Physicist and the founder of Dignity Education Vision International (DEVI Sansthan) . Her ALfA (Accelerated Learning for All) program is being implemented in stages in over 35,000 schools across India
Get Involved
01
Reserve your seat for 26 November
02
Start a research implementation in your geography (4 treatment + 4 control schools)
03
Nominate a champion for the ALIGN–FLN Samman
04
Partner with the Alliance
05
Bring ALfA to your schools or project