Jane Quinn, BBC learning executive, outlines plans for the BBC's forthcoming major campaign on adult literacy, RaW.

Basic skills campaigns have been a major priority for the BBC since On the Move in the early 1970s. Bringing together television, radio and the internet to enable people to read, write and apply numbers has become an area of major innovation and collaboration across the intervening years. With campaigns such as Wordpower and Numberpower, Read and Write Together, Skillswise and the more broadly-based The Big Read, the BBC has become an important part of the strategic drive to improve basic skills levels. Computers Don't Bite and Webwise acknowledged the growing importance of computers in underpinning the nation's economic prosperity and individual access to information.

From October 2005, the BBC will be undertaking its biggest adult literacy campaign ever - RaW (Reading and Writing: read more, write better). The objective is not simply to improve basic skills but to create an engaging and interactive space to learn, based around the everyday practical experiences of adult learners. Built around the BBC's programmes and talent, as well as the development of ambitious external collaborations, RaW will be the first campaign of its kind to be entertainment-led, aiming to establish a legacy that will extend well beyond the life of the campaign.

The target audience is intermediate readers between 25 and 54 - equally split between men and women - who tend to be bored by reading and writing because it can be a struggle for them. They are frustrated by their lack of ability in particular situations, such as filling in forms, completing CVs, or reading with their children. Their attitude to their reading and writing problems ranges from lack of confidence in their abilities to contentment - reading and writing don't interest them and they have plenty of diversions in their lives. Both attitudes are extremely hard to challenge; exploding the myths surrounding reading and writing will be even harder still.

Thorough independent research has identified very specific areas in which these adults want support: helping their children with homework or reading; filling in job applications and forms; writing cards and letters; coping at work; and pursuing personal interests. They maintain a definite sense that reading and writing are important for their children but don't want, as a starting point, to remedy their own problems through formal education. What becomes most apparent is that an entertainment-led space in which they feel engaged and motivated to learn doesn't yet exist - the BBC aims to work with a more varied range of collaborators than ever before to create it.

With a three to five-year commitment, RaW proposes to tackle this problem in three phases and a whole range of BBC activities are being planned across TV, radio, the internet and publishing, including community outreach initiatives. Phase one will seek to raise awareness, targeting the full age range and helping them to assess their reading level. Plans are in progress for literacy-related programmes on BBC1 at the end of which viewers will be directed towards a personal coaching line - one option among many on offer from the helpline - an online interactive magazine, spelling quizzes and free publications. Storylines in popular soaps will also be featured. RaW Online - an interactive taster session based around soaps, BBC personalities and sports; a personalised portal with games; celebrity gossip; and plenty of literacy activities - will provide a unique opportunity. The dominant tone will be engaging, personalised, contemporary and entertaining.

The second phase will seek to focus on people's passions and interests, drawing them into a new found enjoyment of reading and writing. Well-known personalities will be potentially involved in stimulating interest and acting as role models, and new publications and activities will be available through popular outlets. An important element of this phase will be a proposed collaboration with the World Book Day adult literacy initiative, launching in March 2006. The two campaigns have a common aim to provide and promote a wide range of new, motivating reading material for those with intermediate or emerging reading skills.

The final phase, running through to 2008, will be aimed at families to encourage adults to read and write more with children.

RaW aims to provide an exciting range of activities that will enable adults to take small personalised steps towards reading more and writing better. A course will be one choice among several, as individuals become more aware of their specific problem and how to remedy it. The BBC will bring its own resources to bear on motivating, encouraging and inspiring adults, but it is the national and on-the-ground collaborations that will extend the impact on people's lives. Libraries, national literacy organisations and colleges across the UK will all be essential partners in building and embedding this campaign.

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