UN Chief’s message for International Literacy Day

(Sept. 02,2009): In his message for International Literacy Day on Tuesday, United Nations Secretary General has lamented that approximately 776 million adults, most of them women, have no secure command of the fundamentals of literacy and numeracy. “In a world of enormous wealth, in a world in which, education and knowledge are necessary passports to a better life, the scale of illiteracy is truly staggering” said Ban Ki Moon. He noted that 75 million children are not in school, and even for those who get a start in their education, drop-out rates are very high. According to the UN Chief, “ literacy not just reading and writing, is about respect, opportunity and development. Even the simplest acquisition of literacy can have a profoundly empowering effect personally, socially and politically”, he said.
The spotlight for this year’s International Literacy Day is on the empowering role of literacy and its importance for participation, citizenship and social development. Among the winners of this year’s International Literacy Prizes awarded by UNESCO – the UN’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation is a newspaper called “Khabar Lahariya” produced entirely by low-caste women in the northern Indian Uttar Pradesh State. Innovative literacy projects in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, and the Philippines have won the other three awards, while a program in Bhutan received honourable mention. “Literacy and Empowerment” is the theme for the 2009-2010 biennium of the United Nations Literacy Decade.