International Literacy Day is taking place this year on September 8. National-awareness-days.com is raising awareness that 1 in 5: that’s 776 million adults worldwide that can’t write their own name or read a line from a book. A basic right to education that richer countries don’t have to worry about, compared to much poorer places in the Third World.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) is dedicated to tackling the link between poverty and literacy. The day was founded in 1946 and every year on 8 September UNESCO asks governments, employers, trades unions and other important international organisations to get involved and remember the importance of being able to read and write.
So, what is literacy and why is literacy so important? Well, we need to be able to read and write to get through our important everyday tasks: from something as small as writing a shopping list, to passing through school and into employment. Where would we be if we couldn’t do these things? Literacy opens up a window of opportunities to every one of us, and is essential to our development.
Every year on 8 September the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes are awarded. The prize is worth $20,000. Literacy programmes from The Saakshar Bharat (Literate India) Mission and The Dhaka Ahsania Mission in Bangladesh were some of the winners of UNESCO’s literacy prizes for 2013.
In the UK 1 in 6 people struggle with literacy. The National Literacy Trust is an independent charity that relies on financial support to help support people and improve their literacy skills.
If you would like to get involved, or are interested in finding out more about events taking place on the day, go to the International Literacy Day website at www.internationalliteracyday.org
The National Literacy Trust reports that since its foundation in 1993, literacy levels have increased by 24%, with 80% of 11-year-olds reaching the stage expected for their age group in 2009, compared with only 56% in 1995. Yet, as demands on literacy skills are rapidly increasing, there is still much to do to reach those people who are in most need of literacy support.
Early Words Together is a targeted, literacy peer education programme for families with children aged two to five that empowers parents to support their child’s early learning, through small groups run within an early years setting.
A fifth of all children in England, and close to a third of disadvantaged children, are unable to read well when they leave primary school. This prevents them from achieving their potential in secondary school, and beyond, and creates obstacles to a fairer society.
The National Literacy Trust is one of the partners leading the Read On. Get On. campaign. Driven by a coalition of charities and organisations, it aims to get all 11-year-olds reading well by 2025.
The Read On. Get On. campaign sets out four key drivers where action is needed to support children’s reading:
- Supporting children to develop good language skills before starting school
- Providing the right support to primary schools
- Supporting parents and carers to help with their children’s reading
- Celebrating the enjoyment of reading in all our communities
Read On. Get On. is crucial to the National Literacy Trust’s ambition to raise literacy levels in disadvantaged communities. It builds on our work with families, communities and schools to change patterns of intergenerational illiteracy and highlights the importance of reading to build a fairer society.
For more information about the National Literacy Trust go to their website National Literacy Trust
For more information about national awareness days go to their website National Awareness Days
Written by Rachel Harrison, speech and language therapist, on behalf of Integrated Treatment Services.
