On 8 September the world celebrates International Literacy Day. A theme for International Literacy Day 2015 is Literacy and Sustainable Societies and UNESCO will be hosting a special meeting to kick-start new literacy initiatives. Since illiteracy goes hand in hand with poverty in holding back the development of countries, UNESCO’s support for projects with local partners is invaluable.

Illiteracy is injustice

Illiteracy must be tackled because it represents one of the clearest signs of the terrible injustice that continues to exist around the world. For example, it is shocking to know that of the estimated 774 million adults who still cannot read or write, two-thirds of them are women. Literacy has been shown to be one of the key elements for equality, by enabling women to be able to support themselves and their families.

Astonishingly, there is still a literacy problem in highly industrialised countries such as the US and in Europe. In the US, an estimated 14% of the population cannot read and this figure has not changed for a decade! In Europe, things look just as bleak with the European Commission suggesting that around 20% of the young generation may not possess sufficient literacy skills alongside gaps in, mathematics, science and technology to enable them to access the workforce. These figures are incredibly depressing when you consider the easy access people in the US and Europe enjoy to information, compared with those in many developing countries. What a pity when you consider how far we have come in history in improving literacy!

Remind people of the joy of books and reading

International Literacy Day is a welcome chance to raise awareness of the continuing problems that many communities face and to remind everyone that not only are reading and writing essential skills, but that they make life fun too!