Literacy is the light that guides us all, In the simplest terms literacy can be defined as the ability of an individual to read and write in any language. It is extremely important for an individual to be literate in order to carry out a smooth livelihood and considering this in order to spread awareness about importance of education as well as literacy, world international literacy day has been celebrated every year on the 8th of September. On this day every country prepares and carries out different kinds of expeditions and indulges in different kinds of international literacy day activities. The main motive of the world literacy day is to draw the attention of the individuals of different societies and communities of the world towards the importance of the literacy. The day mainly emphasizes on the importance of literacy as well as the adult education to the people all over the globe. A lot of people today can’t read or write their name and the reason behind this is illiteracy. Most of the countries of the world have an extremely low literacy rate despite the fact that world international literacy day has been commemorated every year.
World Literacy Day History
The UNESCO has declared that world literacy day shall be celebrated every year on 8th of September. UNESCO proclaimed this on the 17th of November 1965 in order to promote the literacy levels all over the world. On the 8th September 1966 the world international literacy day was celebrated for the first time and since then, it has been celebrated all over the world every year. Although the countries may differ in the type of literacy day activities but they all celebrate to emphasize and spread awareness of the importance of education and literacy in the world.
Importance Of Literacy Day
Almost 775 million people are illiterate all over the world and one in every adult is illiterate in the world. In accordance with the global monitoring report on education for all by the UNESCO, the countries situated in the western and the southern parts of Asia encompass the lowest literacy rates of all the countries of the world. UNESCO described literacy as the tool as a basic human right, tool with the help of which an individual can achieve personal empowerment and an extremely important means of social as well as human development. Literacy is the main key which leads to the development of any country, without literacy and education there will be no development. With the help of literacy, any person can spend a sustainable life on the planet earth. The importance of literacy day can be deduced from the fact that a literate person always has an advantage over the illiterate person.
A literate person has better job opportunities while illiteracy is known to be the root cause of poverty in the world. A literate person can lead a sustainable and a smoother life. The countries having the lowest literacy rates are the Mali, Niger and the Burkina Faso. Reports have been evident in showing a very clear link between the illiteracy and poverty in many countries. In fact, the prejudice against the women is also a function of the illiterate countries.
The digital technologies have been emerging all over the globe with an extremely fast rate. They have been altering and modifying the way the people live, learn, work and most importantly socialize all over the world. Digital technologies like the digital marketing, e-commerce, knowledge management, social services etc. have been known to provide wider avenues for education as well as knowledge to the individuals. They have been known to inculcate the newer generations with the skills which can help them in living a smooth life. But, the populations of the individuals that are illiterate are far away from these new opportunities and skill sets. Today, knowledge, education and opportunities are growing in the digital world and hence, it is important to be literate. The importance of the literacy day is so much that the greatest organization of the world the UNESCO has proclaimed that world international literacy day shall be observed every year.
Literacy Day Activities
World international literacy day is commemorates worldwide with same feeling but different kinds of literacy day activities. Every country has its own beliefs associated with the celebration of the day. The most common thing which is followed all over the world is the narration of the international literacy day speech. Every year the celebration of the world literacy day has a different theme which the UNESCO decides depending upon the situation and latest trends of that year. The theme of world international literacy day 2017 as decided by UNESCO is “literacy in a digital world” considering the growth of digital technologies over the year. Likewise, every year along with international literacy day a new theme is promoted. In schools and colleges, various plays, and speeches are presented citing the importance of the literacy day in the contemporary world. The writers for literacy initiative support the UNESCO in the world literacy drive. Some of the very famous writers that are a part of this initiative are Paulo Coelho, Toni Morrison, Philippe Claudel, Amitav Ghosh, Marc Levy, Fatou Diome and many more. These writers collectively work in raising awareness about the world international literacy day.
Literacy is like a light that drives away the darkness of poverty, prejudices against women and many other socio-economic issues that the world is facing. Hence, it is extremely important for every individual of every country to be literate. The initiative of UNESCO to spread awareness about importance of literacy and education was started with the proclamation of the world international literacy day. The fact that this day has been known to impact and elevate the literacy rates of many countries is evident enough to cite the importance of literacy day.