WHEN IS WORLD LITERACY DAY

History of World Literacy Day

 

The first International Literacy Day was celebrated in 1967 and this tradition has been held annually for 50 years. Since 1967, International Literacy celebrations have taken place annually around the world to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights, and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.

 

While the UNESCO has noted positive trends of growing literacy rates among children, the same cannot be said about the adult population. Despite progress made, literacy challenges persist with at least 773 million adults worldwide lacking basic literacy skills today.

 

The issue of literacy is a key component of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals and the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Sustainable Development Goal 4 has as one of its targets ensuring all young people achieve literacy and numeracy and that adults, who lack these skills are given the opportunity to acquire them.

 

International Literacy Day 2020 will focus on literacy teaching and learning in Covid-19 crisis and beyond with a focus on the role of educators and changing pedagogues. The theme will highlight literacy learning in a lifelong learning perspective and therefore mainly focus on youth and adults.  Through a virtual conference, UNESCO will initiate a collective global discussion to re-imagine the literacy teaching and learning of youth and adults in the post-Covid-19 era.