World Literacy Day is observed to spread awareness about literacy, promote good quality education, and develop people’s skills to learn and employable in the outside world.
International Literacy Day 2021
International Literacy Day is celebrated around the globe on 8th September. It’s an annual celebration worldwide. The day enlightens the need to spread literacy and arrive at solutions for various challenges posed by today’s education.
International Literacy Day 2021 – History
The idea of Literacy Day took origin at the World Conference of Ministers of Education held at Tehran in 1965. On 26th October 1966, UNESCO declared the celebration of World Literacy Day on an international level. The world faced some of the worst problems during that era: illiteracy, poverty, unemployment, inadequate health facilities, etc. The focus was paid to education and removing ignorance so that people could get better access to livelihood. Literacy is that golden weapon that provides empowerment and independent thinking to individuals.
International Literacy Day 2021 Theme
The International Literacy Day 2021 theme is yet to be declared. The year 2020 focused on “Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond”. Themes are created to evaluate literacy’s current situation across the world, measures and improvements adopted to increase literacy rate, and reforms brought up to escalate adult literacy ratio, promotion of the right to education, etc.
Why is International Literacy Day Celebrated?
The significant difference between humans and other species is our ability to read and write. Literacy helps us to create our path for success. Literacy promotes self-development, establishes a sustainable society and thereby establishes a well-being global economy. The day is used to create awareness in the public domain regarding the importance of education.
International Literacy Day marks the greatest hallmark events worldwide to promote literacy and spread education amongst masses. There are number of ways in which the day is celebrated across international spaces, some of them are discussed below:
Children studying in schools should be taught about charity and the need to donate. On Literacy Day, parents, teachers and students can come together to create a library of books that they have studied or no longer in use and donate to someone in great need of them.
Visit charitable organizations and find out how many of them need books to study and gift them. In return, you’ll reap a bountiful of smiles and happy faces. Alternatively, you could also present vouchers to help children in need to purchase books at affordable/discounted prices.
Create a virtual treasure house of books, journals, encyclopaedias and other educational resources for all age groups and make them accessible. This way, you contribute to sharing knowledge among the masses and generate interest in learning to read and write.
Form an active group of members and rally around your neighbourhood, explaining the importance of education. Spread the word, take part in online campaigns and support causes that cater to education.
Undertake fellowships that boost your resume as well as provide a golden opportunity to serve rural communities. Villagers usually do not have access to good quality education. Spend time working on your fellowship to promote education in rural areas.
Please note, through education, we can build better communities and participate in nation-building activities. Let us strive for education and a better world to live in!
Wishing you a Happy World Literacy Day 2021!