International Literacy Day is celebrated on September 8. This date was proclaimed International Literacy Day by UNESCO on November 17, 1965. The aim is to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. On this Day each year, the international communities are reminded of the status of literacy and adult learning globally.
Celebration of this day takes place all around the world bringing together governments, multi- and bilateral organizations, NGOs, private sectors, communities, teachers, learners and experts in the field. On this day, International Literacy Prizes are awarded to people with outstanding solutions that can drive literacy towards achieving the 2030 Education Agenda for Sustainable Development. Literacy is a part of Sustainable Development Goal 4, which aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all”. The target is that by 2030 all youth and a substantial proportion of adults, both men and women, achieve literacy and numeracy.
Some 775 million adults lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults are still not literate and two-thirds of them are women.
Celebration of International Literacy Day each year has included specific themes and goals. In the year 2016, the 50th anniversary of International Literacy Day was celebrated by UNESCO under the theme, “Reading the Past, Writing the Future”. International Literacy Day 2016 celebrated and honored the efforts and progress made to increase literacy rates around the world. It also addressed current challenges and looked to innovative solutions to further boost literacy in the future. The main global celebration of the day took place at UNESCO Headquarters at Paris in the form of a two-day conference on 8 – 9 September 2016, the highlight of which was awarding of the Literacy Prizes. At the same time, the Global Alliance for Literacy (GAL) was launched, which is a new and ambitious initiative to make all major stakeholders pull together to promote literacy as a foundation for lifelong learning.