International Day of Literacy
Today is International Literacy Day! It marks a day where we annually celebrate the progress governments, civil society and stakeholders have made in improving world literacy rates and reflect on the remaining challenges which impact literacy. Global literacy is a key component of the UNs Sustainable Development Goals, which were adopted in 2015. Part of its agenda is to promote universal access to quality education and learning opportunities for all.
This year the theme for International Literacy Day is linked with the International Year of Indigenous Languages. Because of this, International Literacy Day 2019 will focus on ‘Literacy and Multilingualism’. Despite the hard work of global organizations, literacy challenges persist and are distributed unevenly through countries and populations. This theme allows us to embrace linguistic diversity and recognize global differences in a positive way.
The issue of literacy relates to other global challenges like equality. There are 774 million people around the world who cannot read or write, and of all the illiterate adults in the world, nearly two-thirds of these are female. Some nations have a bigger problem than others, for instance, South Sudan is a nation with a particularly low literacy rate of just 26.8%, which breaks down to only 35% of men being literate and an even smaller number of women being literate, 19.2%.
Literacy links closely to the work of drop4drop. By installing clean water systems in communities currently without, we allow members of the community who were previously limited to water collecting jobs, to go out and get an education. Learning to read and write can be one of the most powerful tools in breaking the cycle of poverty, and here at drop4drop we believe access to clean and safe water transforms lives, creates opportunities and lays the foundations to a brighter future. Be part of the solution and donate as little as £3 to help fund a project. Every penny you donate goes straight into our projects, so you know exactly where your money is going. Keep up to date with our projects by following us on social media @drop4drop.