International Literacy Day 2022: Date, History And Significance – All You Need To Know

International Literacy Day is a day observed to raise awareness of the value of literacy as well as the need to build a literate community in all languages.

International Literacy Day 2022

Source : Getty

International Literacy Day 2022: Every year, on September 8, people all around the world come together to celebrate International Literacy Day and draw attention to the importance of reading and writing along with serving to acknowledge the need to create a globally literate community.

Literacy refers to a person's ability to read or write, an ability that connects and empowers people, allowing them to communicate and interact with the world, and one that the United Nations considers a basic human right. 

History Of The International Literacy Day: 

Originally, the idea for International Literacy Day was proposed during the Iran-hosted World Conference of Ministers of Education for the Eradication of Illiteracy in 1965.

The following year, UNESCO took the initiative and established September 8 as International Literacy Day, with the main goal of "reminding the international community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities, and societies, and the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies."

The world community took up the goal of eradicating illiteracy a year later by taking part in the first International Literacy Day.

Significance Of The International Literacy Day:

Since 1967, with UNESCO at the forefront of efforts, people from all over the world have gotten together on International Literacy Day (ILD) to raise awareness about how important literacy is as a human right and to move forward with projects that will make the world a better place for everyone.

As per UNESCO, the importance of the world's ever-changing context has grown in recent years, and this has slowed the expansion of global literacy projects. Even though there have been improvements, there are still 771 million people in the world who can't read or write. Most of these people are women, who lack even the most basic reading and writing skills and are therefore more at risk than their educated peers.

Over 24 million students may never return to school because of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 11 million of them being girls and young women. Literacy education should be facilitated from the viewpoint of lifelong learning, and existing learning spaces should be enriched and redesigned through an inclusive approach to ensure that no one is left behind.

How The International Literacy Day is Commemorated: 

On International Literacy Day, organisations and individuals celebrate their literacy to encourage and help others. Students and working people mentor children in the community, donate books to libraries, and support students' tuition and learning to assist them to start professions.

Institutions, governments, and international organisations convene think tanks and debate forums to establish and implement illiteracy policies and also host fundraisers. International Literacy Day focuses on a different issue each year. ​

International Literacy Day Theme

This year, International Literacy Day will be celebrated all over the world with the theme "Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces."

This is a chance to think about how important literacy learning spaces are for building resilience and making sure that everyone gets a quality, fair, and inclusive education