International Literacy Day 2008: Facts and Activities

Facts about International Literacy Day 2008
From ProLiteracy, the International Reading Association, and UNESCO

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) first established September 8th of each year as international Literacy Day in 1965.

• The purpose of International Literacy Day is to focus attention on the need for worldwide literacy. An estimated 774 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults are illiterate, two-thirds of them women.

• According to UNESCO’s "Global Monitoring Report on Education for All (2006) South and West Asia has the lowest regional adult literacy rate (58.6%), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (59.7%), and the Arab States (62.7%). Countries with the lowest literacy rates in the world are Burkina Faso (12.8%), Niger (14.4%) and Mali (19%). The report shows a clear connection between illiteracy and countries in severe poverty, and between illiteracy and prejudice against women. [I]

• The celebration's theme for 2007 and 2008 is “Literacy and Health”. In particular, International Literacy Day 2008 has a strong emphasis on Literacy and Epidemics with a focus on communicable diseases such as HIV, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, some of the world's most important public health concerns.

• There are several literacy prizes awarded on International Literacy Day:
-- The International Reading Association Literacy Award
-- King Sejong Prizes (two)— for creating, developing, and disseminating mother tongue languages in developing countries
-- Confucius Prizes (two) — rewarding outstanding activities in the field of literacy for rural adults and out-of-school youth, particularly women and girls. This year, ProLiteracy partner program Operation Upgrade’s KwaNibela project, which teaches women about health issues, will be awarded a Confucius Prize.

• The International Reading Association sponsors the annual International Reading Association Literacy Award, which is presented at the UNESCO celebration of International Literacy Day.

• The ReadWriteThink.org Web site, developed by the International Reading Association and the National Council of Teachers of English with support from the Verizon Foundation, provides lesson plans and activities for reading that incorporate technology and the Internet.

Activities You Can Do With Adult Learners to Promote International Literacy Day:

• Have them match different alphabets (Chinese, Cyrillic, Arabic, Hindi, etc.) to their countries.

• Read and compare folk tales from different countries: folk lore and myths

• Find an international pen pal.

• Have ESL students write their stories, or talk about their stories at a group function.

• Host a Literacy ILD with your ESL students — set up booths with materials from their native country; have them dress in native costumes, serve native food. Share their stories, songs, folklore.Invite the media.

• Help adult learners understand the scope of the adult literacy issue by comparing the literacy issues internationally with those in the U.S.

• Ask adult learners plan their dream vacation in an international location and have them do research about their destination.

• Establish a one-day hotline that community members can call with questions about reading, learning disabilities, literacy programs, and resources. Staff the hotline with reading professionals and volunteers from local literacy organizations.

• Ask your local bookstore for a partnership.

• Hold a press conference to publicize literacy issues in your community. Talk about the scope of the problem, how your program is addressing it, and what you need from the community to support your efforts.

Sited August 19, 2008, wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Literacy_Day