8 SEPTEMBER – International Literacy Day

8 SEPTEMBER – International Literacy Day

Education as a key
to human dignity and sustainable development

The Day was established on November 17, 1965 by UNESCO in order to remind the international community of the importance of literacy for the resolution of major global problems such as poverty, child mortality, the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, the violation of human rights and the failure to achieve gender equality.

UNESCO estimates the number of illiterate people in the world to be 781 million adults, 64% of whom are women. More than half of the illiterate population is in West and South Asia, 24% in sub-Saharan Africa, 12% in East Asia, 6.6% in the Arab states and 4.2% in Latin America. The Good Shepherd apostolic realities present in those regions include systematic literacy initiatives, particularly in favor of vulnerable girls and boys, boys and women.

This year the focus will be on teaching and learning literacy in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond, with particular attention to the role of educators and the change in pedagogy.

What is the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on young people and adult literacy educators and on teaching and learning? What are the lessons learned? How can we effectively position youth and adult literacy learning in global and national responses and strategies for recovery and resilience building?

By exploring these questions, International Literacy Day 2020 will provide an opportunity to reflect and discuss how to use innovative and effective pedagogies and teaching methodologies in youth and adult literacy programs to address the pandemic and beyond. The day will also provide an opportunity to analyze the role of educators, as well as policies, systems, governance and effective measures that can support educators and learning. Through a virtual conference, UNESCO will launch a collective global discussion to re-imagine the teaching and learning of youth and adult literacy literacy in the post-Covid-19 era towards achieving Agenda 2030 Objective 4.