– UN
With nearly 800 million people unable to read or write, the United Nations
today marked International Literacy Day with a warning that illiteracy
undermines efforts to eliminate a host of social ills such as poverty and
sickness and threatens the very stability of nations.
"The costs are enormous," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a
<"http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2011/sgsm13769.doc.htm">message.
"Illiteracy exacerbates cycles of poverty, ill-health and deprivation. It
weakens communities and undermines democratic processes through
marginalization and exclusion. These and other impacts can combine to
destabilize societies."
This year's Day is being commemorated under the theme "Literacy and Peace."
Mr. Ban noted that despite progress, illiteracy continues to afflict
millions of people, especially women and girls. In 2009, roughly two thirds
of the world's estimated 793 million illiterate adults were female. That
same year, some 67 million primary school-aged children and 72 million
adolescents were denied their right to an education, he added.
"Literacy unlocks the capacity of individuals to imagine and create a more
fulfilling future. It opens the way to greater justice, equality and
progress. Literacy can help societies heal, advance political processes and
contribute to the common good," he declared.
The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
<"http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/education-building-blocks/li
teracy/">noted that more than half the adults in 11 countries are
illiterate. These are Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea,
Haiti, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Sierra Leone.
"The world urgently needs increased political commitment to literacy backed
by adequate resources to scale up effective programmes," UNESCO
Director-General Irina Bokova said in a message.
"Today I urge governments, international organizations, civil society and
the private sector to make literacy a policy priority, so that every
individual can develop their potential, and actively participate in shaping
more sustainable, just and peaceful societies."
In a ceremony in New Delhi, UNESCO awarded the international Confucius and
King Sejong literacy prizes, financed respectively by China and the Republic
of Korea, to projects in Burundi, Mexico, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo (DRC), and the United States. King Sejong promulgated the native
alphabet of the Korean language in the mid-15th century.
The National Literacy Service of Burundi won one of the two UNESCO King
Sejong Literacy Prizes for its innovative approach to linking functional
literacy to daily life issues and to topics related to peace and tolerance,
as well as for its overall impact. From 2010 to 2011 alone, the service
presented more than 50,000 certificates to new readers.
The other UNESCO King Sejong Prize went to the National Institute for the
Education of Adults of Mexico, for its bilingual literacy programme, which
has helped reduce illiteracy among indigenous peoples, especially women, and
improved their ability to exercise their rights.
The US-based Room to Read won one of the UNESCO Confucius Prizes for
Literacy for its programme, Promoting Gender Equality and Literacy through
Local Language Publishing. Operating in nine countries – Bangladesh,
Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Viet Nam and Zambia ¬
it has assisted communities in the development of culturally relevant
reading materials in local and minority languages.
The second UNESCO Confucius Prize laureate was the Collectif Alpha Ujuvi in
the DRC for its programme, Peaceful Coexistence of Communities and Good
Governance in North Kivu, using an innovative model for preventing and
resolving tensions and conflicts among individuals and communities.
Each of the four prizes carries a $20,000 award.
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