Literacy and peace celebrated for World Literacy Day
The link between higher levels of reading and writing as a panacea for war is being celebrated today (September 8th) in UNESCO's World Literacy Day.
As part of the celebrations, Mexico's National Institute for Education of Adults will be commended in the heritage organisation's King Sejong Literacy Prizes financed by Korea and China, for its work in improving literacy levels in the country.
A special ceremony during the international conference on female literacy levels held in New Delhi from today until September 11th will present the awards, as the conference aims to highlight how the vast majority of illiterate people are in fact women and girls, with a view to stimulating government response.
"The world urgently needs increased political commitment to literacy backed by adequate resources to scale up effective programmes," explained UNESCO director general Irina Bokova.
She urged governments, civil society, the private sector and fellow organisations to make literacy a policy priority "so that every individual can develop their potential".
The Bilingual Literacy for Life programme in Mexico was singled out for its innovative and inspirational work for improving literacy levels among indigenous people and fostering social cohesion more generally, Hispanically Speaking News reports.
