Sign In
Learn bits
Today in News
Mahesh

08/09/23 06:28 AM IST

International Literacy Day 2023

In News
  • International Literacy Day is celebrated on September 8 every year to promote the importance of literacy for dignity and human rights, and a literate and sustainable society.
  • The theme of International Literacy Day 2023 is ‘Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies’.
History
  • The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1966, at the 14th session of its General Conference, announced the event and the first International Literacy Day was celebrated in 1967.
  • Rapidly changing global context took a new meaning over the past years, hampering the literacy progress and widening inequalities across world regions, countries, and populations.
  • In low- and middle-income countries, the share of 10-year-old children who could not read and understand a simple text with comprehension has increased from 57 per cent in 2019 to an estimated 70 per cent in 2022.
  • ILD2023 will be an opportunity to join efforts to accelerate progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on education and lifelong learning and to reflect on the role of literacy in building more inclusive, peaceful, just, and sustainable societies.
  • At the global level, UNESCO will hold a conference at its headquarters in Paris. This will also include the award ceremony of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes 2023.
Significance
  • To promote education on a global level. Education is the fundamental right of every individual. Therefore, the day has been established to make quality education accessible to everyone regardless of gender, caste, sex, and age.
  • To create awareness among people about the literacy challenges that are still faced by millions of people across the globe. Without education, people can't contribute to the social and economic development of nation.
  • One of the main aims of celebrating the International Literacy Day is to promote sustainable development in different aspects including reducing poverty, supporting gender equality, encouraging economic growth.
  • To empower people through education so that they can improve their quality of life, and make better and informed decisions.
  • To eradicate gender disparities. International Literacy Day is an initiative to remove the gap between the education of men and women. The day strictly promotes the slogan 'Education for All'.
Source- Hindustan Times

More Related Current Affairs View All

26 Sep

Neom Project

'Saudi Arabia’s Neom project contends with corruption, worker deaths, racism and misogyny.' Neom was visualised as part of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious Vision 2030 proje

Read More

26 Sep

Project Cheetah

'Project Cheetah, which saw the introduction of the African sub-species of the wild cat in India, completed two years on September 17.' The ambitious project has two overarchi

Read More

26 Sep

Quota in PhD admissions at IIMA

'After a legal battle of over three years, the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIM-A) has announced that it will implement reservation in PhD admissions next year onwards

Read More

India’s First Ai-Driven Magazine Generator

Generate Your Custom Current Affairs Magazine using our AI in just 3 steps