On September 8th, 2023, the International Office of Catholic Education (OIEC) joined UNESCO in celebrating “International Literacy Day”(ILD) as an opportunity to show their commitment to accelerate progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on education and lifelong learning, and to reflect on the role of literacy in building more inclusive, peaceful, just, and sustainable societies.

Since 1967, “International Literacy Day” celebrations have taken place annually around the world to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights. Despite steady progress made across the world, literacy challenges persist with at least 763 million young people and adults lacking basic literacy skills in 2020. The recent COVID-19 crisis and other crises, such as climate change and conflicts, have hindered literacy progress and widened inequalities between regions, countries, and populations. In low- and middle-income countries, the share of 10-year-olds who could not read and understand simple text increased from 57% in 2019 to almost 70% in 2022.

To read more about “International Literacy Day”(ILD) and access materials such as an infographic, a poster, and a video to raise awareness on the importance of literacy please visit International Literacy Day | UNESCO 

𝙏𝙤 𝙚𝙙𝙪𝙘𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙩 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙜𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙩 […].
(𝙋𝙤𝙥𝙚 𝙁𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙘𝙞𝙨)