International Literacy Day

International Literacy Day

So today I thought I would talk about International Literacy Day in a bit more detail. Well I hope to cover some important facts about it, in this post. So lets get started shall we.

So when did this day actually start and why do we celebrate it. Wikipedia actually defines it very well so I'm going to quote them here. 

"September 8 was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. It was first celebrated in 1966. Its aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally. Celebrations take place around the world."(Wikipedia)

Different records state that over 775 million adults lack literacy skills or in other words are illiterate. Its a sad story. What makes it worse is that 2/3 of that number is women. Sources say that's about 493 million women from around the world. Also about 123 million youth are also illiterate. What can one say? Its really sad to hear pure facts such as these. Being a teenager myself, I really can't imagine being unable to type/write an article, a blog-post, an essay or anything else. Even the thought of being unable to read properly or not read at all is fairly difficult to imagine. All this and more in this info-graph. You won't regret reading it. INFO GRAPHIC 

So basically International Literacy Day is about making an awareness concerning the literacy of the world. Every year this day is celebrated around the world. Each year has its own theme. 

This years theme is "Literacies for the 21st Century"

Do you know what literacy means? UNESCO states it in a pretty good way.

"Literacy is a right and a foundation for lifelong learning, better well-being and livelihoods. As such it is a driver for sustainable and inclusive development. " Source

So now you know a bit about "International Literacy Day"

I hope you understood something about it and realize the situation of literacy 

in the world, today. There is more that can be said about this, but there is only so much I can tell in one blog post. Down below I have listed some links/resources. They are really informative and I encourage you to go ahead and read them. They are fairly short and could teach you a few more things regrading "International Literacy Day."

Thanks for taking the time to read this.

Resources

1. http://www.reading.org/Libraries/meetings/facts-about-international-literacy-day.doc    Some nice facts here.
2. http://www.unesco.org/new/unesco/events/prizes-and-celebrations/celebrations/international-days/literacy-day/
3. http://www.uis.unesco.org/literacy/Documents/Intl-literacy-day/literacy-infographic-2013-en.pdf   This is the info graph above
4. A nice post I found regrading Literacy Day                       http://kisbyto.blogspot.com/2012/09/international-literacy-day-literacy-and.html