This feature is the third article in a series that celebrates the accomplishments of National Affiliates of the International Development in Europe Committee (IDEC) of the International Reading Association (IRA). Their member organizations’ activity reports are compiled twice a year (in January and July), and we have summarized excerpts from these reports. Visit www.literacyeurope.org for more information and a list of national websites. 

Germany  
In 2011, the German Society for Reading and Writing, or Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Lesen und Schreiben. e.V., published Volume 12 of the series “Beitrage der Deutschen Gesellschaft fur Lesen und Schreiben” with the title Mehrsprachigkeit – Chance oder Hürde beim Schriftspracherwerb? (Multilingualism: chance or risk for literacy?), edited by Sabine Hornberg and Renate Valtin. Their annual congress took place on April 8 and 9, 2011, at Humboldt-University, Berlin, with 120 participants. The topic was “Girls and boys in school. How to develop reading competence, reading motivation, and positive attitudes toward school.” PowerPoint presentations are available at http://www.dgls.de. Member Christine Garbe was successful in getting funding for the Comenius project BACULIT (Basic Curriculum for Teachers' In-service Training in Content Area Literacy in Secondary Schools). Visit www.alinet.eu for details. This project was based on the results of the international ADORE study “Teaching Adolescent Struggling Readers – A Comparative Study of Good Practices in European Countries” funded by the European Socrates Program from 2006 to 2009. View a summary of the project’s results at www.adore-project.eu. Visit www.dgls.de for more information about the German Society for Reading and Writing. 

Greece
The Greek Reading Association is also called the Hellenic Association for Language and Literacy (HALL). In 2011, the Association has continued to expand its various activities. They send a newsletter to all members. The proceedings of the conference titled “Writing and Writings in the 21st Century: The Challenge for Education” were published in a CD-ROM of over 600 pages. They also organized regional in-service seminars promoting literacy in primary education.

Ireland
The Reading Association of Ireland (RAI), or Cumann Léitheoireachtanah Éireann, just held their 35th Annual RAI Conference at the Church of Ireland College of Education in Dublin from September 29 to October 1. The theme was “Creating Multiple Pathways to Powerful Literacy in Challenging Times” and included keynote speakers Prof. P. David Pearson (University of California, Berkeley) and Dr. Bernadette Dwyer (St. Patrick’s College, Dublin). For more information see http://www.reading.ie/conferences. RAI presented five seminars between January and July 2011. The presentations delivered at each seminar are available to download at http://www.reading.ie/seminars. The seminars explored a range of topics including comprehension, spelling and writing instruction, literature circles, and assessment. The spring edition of Reading News, the RAI newsletter, included articles on assessment and reading and writing instruction as well as RAI’s Mission Statement and statement on Key Principles of Effective Literacy Development. The autumn 2010 edition of Reading News is available to download on the website, and the spring 2011 edition will be available shortly. As part of continuing efforts to promote the RAI and literacy education nationally, the RAI is currently establishing a number of regional branches across Ireland. Regional branches of the RAI have been established in Limerick and Cork. Visit their website, redesigned in 2010, at www.reading.ie.