(NATCOM) BASSETERRE St. Kitts, September 3, 2014 – The first International Literacy Day (ILD) was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1965 but first celebrated on September 08, 1966 to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals and communities.
Celebrated under the theme ‘Literacy and Sustainable Development’, this year, “provides us with an opportunity to remember a simple truth: literacy not only changes lives, it saves them”, stated Ms Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO in her annual World Literacy Day message. The many benefits of being literate are far reaching. According to Irina Bokova, “Literacy helps reduce poverty and enables people to find jobs and obtain higher salaries”. Additionally, “Literacy facilitates access to knowledge and triggers a process of empowerment and self-esteem that benefits everyone”.
Accordingly, research done by UNESCO, found that today there are an estimated 800 million illiterate adults, two thirds of whom are women and that more than 250 million children are unable to read a single sentence, even though half of them have spent at least four years in school. In order to improve these figures, “we must change the traditional approach of literacy programmes to encompass, beyond reading and writing in the narrower sense, broader skills with regard to consumption and sustainable lifestyles, the conservation of biodiversity, poverty reduction, disaster risk reduction as well as civic participation”, concluded the Director General .
An international conference is slated on World Literacy Day Sept 8, 2014 on the theme, “Girls’ and Women’s Literacy and Education: Foundation for Sustainable Development” hosted by Bangladesh in collaboration with UNESCO. Female literacy and education encompasses a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education, which includes primary , secondary and tertiary education, and health education, in particular for girls and women. These issues are highly relevant in contemporary discussions on educating females.
At the proposed conference, Bangladesh hopes to contribute to the global movement for education by sharing its policies and practices in promoting girls’ and women’s literacy and education. It is anticipated that the event would help to refocus world attention to the global challenges of girls’ and women’s literacy and Education as critical and enabling factors for sustainable development. It is also envisaged that the outcomes of the conference would fuel discussions on the post 2015 developmental agenda as well as provide an opportunity for multiple stakeholders to reflect on innovative strategies for expanding good quality learning opportunities for girls and women.
Improving girls' educational levels has been demonstrated to have clear impacts on the health and economic future of young women, which in turn improves the prospects of their entire community.
In the poorest countries of the world, 50% of girls do not attend secondary school. Yet, research shows that every extra year of school for girls increases their lifetime income by 15%. Improving female education, and thus the earning potential of women and improves the standard of living for their own children, as women invest more and more of their income in their families. However, many barriers to education for girls remain.
While the feminist movement has certainly promoted the importance of the issues attached to female education, the discussion is wide-ranging and by no means narrowly defined. Research has shown that universal education which refers to state-provided primary and secondary education independent of gender is not yet a global norm, even if it is assumed in most developed countries. In some countries, like Afghanistan and Ethiopia, for example, women and girls’ education is a major concern that is yet to be resolved. Surveys conducted in Afghanistan in 2013 revealed that 20% of women aged 15-24 were illiterate. This rate was found to be even lower in the rural areas. 30% of adult women with some primary level education were found to be illiterate meaning that the education system was failing them.
At the international conference Bangladesh is expected to showcase its holistic approach to girls’ education which includes effective laws, policies, financing and innovations. According to Ms. Irina Bokova, every Member State and all our partners should seek to redouble efforts – political and financial – to ensure that literacy is fully recognized as one of the most powerful accelerators of sustainable development.
This year, the St. Kitts-Nevis National Commission for UNESCO Secretariat joins with UNESCO and the world at large in celebrating World Literacy Day.
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