Experts from several businesses and nonprofit organizations joined Georgetown officials yesterday to propose solutions to global illiteracy during a summit in the Leavey Conference Center.

The National Coalition for Literacy and the Verizon Foundation, the philanthropic sector of Verizon Communications, Inc., sponsored the seminar entitled “Next Steps in Literacy Agenda: A National Summit for Action.” During the conference, professionals addressed various literacy statistics in the United States and new forms of communication in the world.

“We are entering a new age,” said Raymond McNulty, senior consultant and executive director of Successful Practices Network, International Center for Leadership in Education. “We know what we need to do, [and] the focus has to be on literacy.”

McNulty said that America is moving from an informational age to a conceptual age of creativity, which demands a higher literacy level to compete effectively in the future.

In panel discussions, experts referenced a report issued by the Annie E. Casey Foundation entitled “Kids Count,” which said that about 70 percent of fourth graders in the United States did not pass their reading proficiency level in 2003. The report also cited stagnant reading scores for 17 year-olds since the 1970s and said that 61 percent of low-income families do not have books for their children. Conference panelists said that 44 million adult Americans are not literate enough to read a food label or fill out a job application.

“It has to be a community effort,” said Phyllis agrab, director of Georgetown’s Center for Child and Human Development. “We have to be aware of most successful programs to help our adults.”

Magrab added that literacy is important for both children and adults so that they can become active members of the workforce and enjoy leisurely activities associated with reading.

The conference recommended focus on five major areas: global literacy, literacy and technology, child and family literacy, literacy and a prepared work force, and literacy for second-language learners.

Jessica Raper, special assistant to the president for policy planning at Georgetown, said that specialized groups composed of experts at the summit developed various “issue areas of focus.” These areas incorporate the need for constructing and improving literacy networks and coalitions and advancing collaboration among literacy programs in nonprofit, private and educational communities.

University President John J. DeGioia and Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, were prominent participants in the conference. Other attendees included President of the National Center for Family Literacy Sharon Darling, Senior Associate of Newsome Associates David J. Rosen and First Lady of Iowa Christie Vilsack.

The Verizon Foundation, which works with nonprofit agencies in the United States and overseas to help people with economic and social disadvantages, has given more than $70 million to advance literacy and computer skills and solve problems of domestic violence.

Georgetown’s Center for Child and Human Development serves local children with special needs and their families.