International Literacy Day will be celebrated worldwide on 8 September to promote and support the development of literacy and skills, as well as universal access to quality education and learning opportunities all over the world.
September 8 was declared International Literacy Day at the 14th session of the General Conference of UNESCO on October 26, 1966. Since 1967, celebrations of International Literacy Day have been held every year in order to remind the public of the importance of literacy for reasons of dignity and human rights and to advance the literacy program for an educated and sustainable society. Despite the progress made, literacy problems remain and, at the same time, the skills required for the position are changing rapidly.
Celebration of International Literacy Day
International Literacy Day is an opportunity to express solidarity with the International Year of Indigenous Languages 2020 and the 26th anniversary of the World Conference on Special Education, which adopted the Declaration of Salamanca statement on integrative education.
International Literacy Day focuses on literacy and multilingualism. Despite the progress made, literacy problems remain unevenly distributed among countries and populations. The inclusion of linguistic diversity in education and literacy is essential to addressing these literacy challenges and achieving the goals of sustainable development.
International Literacy Day will address the main characteristics of multilingualism in today’s digitized and globalized world, as well as its impact on literacy in politics and in practice, in order to increase its involvement in multilingual contexts.
Importance of world International Literacy Day
World Literacy Day – A world ahead
“Education is not a preparation for life, education is life itself.” – John Dewey
Without limitation or limitation, the only thing you can do to turn coal into a diamond is education. Nothing is more powerful than education, and we should celebrate the day when the objectives of the distribution of this power will be reviewed.
World Literacy Day is celebrated each year on September 8th. This year, UNESCO celebrates the 51st anniversary of International Literacy Day by quoting “Reading the past, writing the future”. This day is celebrated around the world to raise awareness of the importance of literacy for individuals, society, and communities.
The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, said: “The world has changed since 1966, but our determination to give every woman and every man the skills, abilities, and opportunities to become all that they want to pay in terms of respect and dignity the wish is unchanged Literacy is the basis of a more sustainable future for all. ”
According to the World Surveillance report, one in five men and two-thirds of women were illiterate. To increase the literacy rate, World Literacy Day is celebrated.
Why do we celebrate International Literacy Day?
The main goal of International Literacy Day is to raise awareness of literacy so that everyone knows their social and individual rights. Since we need food to live, we need literacy for our personal and social development. In the face of the immense increase in the poverty rate, uncontrollable population growth, gender inequality, etc.,
UNESCO has decided to celebrate this day with the aim of eliminating these problems. Their elimination not only helps individuals grow but also contributes to the overall growth and advancement of the nation.
Activities for International Literacy Day
1. Donations
Donate to the International Literacy Association on the Future of Literacy. Your donation will help improve literacy around the world and support educators and advocates of education. No matter how much or how much you give, you help people around the world!
2. Show your appreciation to the teachers
Teachers play an important role in the literacy of our citizens. They spend a lot of time and energy learning to read and write to our children and deserve our thanks. On International Literacy Day, let a teacher know that you value it. Give them a small gift, send them a card or just say thank you. It can mean the world to a hard-working teacher!
3. Help students with their read
Whether you have a child in your life, reading or tutoring, you can help children improve their reading skills. Help your child with homework. With the Help, a young niece or nephew learn to read. Help the volunteers help students with grammar, language or other problems. It’s worth it for you and ultimately benefits the whole community.
International Literacy day Themes
International Literacy Day is celebrated on a specific theme of the year to enhance its effectiveness by implementing a strategic plan to address illiteracy issues in many countries around the world.
Some of the annual themes of International Literacy Day are listed below:
- The 2006 theme was “Literacy sustains Development” focused on social progress.
- The 2007 and 2008 theme was “Literacy and Health” and focused on literacy and epidemics (communicable diseases such as HIV, TB, malaria, etc.).
- The theme for 2009-2010 was “Literacy and Empowerment”, focusing on gender equality and women’s empowerment.
- The theme for 2011-2012 was “Literacy and Peace” to highlight the importance of literacy for peace.
- The 2013 theme was “Literacy in the 21st Century” to promote literacy in the world.
- The 2014 theme was “Literacy and Sustainable Development” to promote sustainable development in the areas of social development, economic growth, and environmental integration.
- The 2015 theme was “Literacy and Sustainable Societies”.
- The 2016 theme was “Reading the past, writing the future”.
- The theme for 2017 was “Literacy in a digital world”.
- The theme of the 2018 International Literacy Day was “Literacy and Skills Development”.
- The 2019 theme was International Literacy Day is “Literacy and Multilingualism”.
Why literacy is important?
Literacy is not only a means of finding a good job; it also promotes knowledge of human rights so that everyone can get what they deserve. Because of illiteracy, many people are daily exposed to humiliation.
Moreover, they fight themselves. Literacy is of utmost importance in creating a better world and using community resources to obtain information from local libraries and school libraries.
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| September Social Events | Date of Celebration |
| National Nutrition Week | 1st September to 7th September |
| Teacher’s day | 5th September |
| International Literacy Day | 8th September |
| Hindi Diwas | 14th September |
| Engineers’ Day | 15th September |
| Sanchayika Day | 15th September |
| World Ozone Day | 16th September |
| World Deaf Day | Last Sunday of the Month of September |
| World Tourism Day | 27th September |
| World Heart Day | 29th September |