International Literacy Day
International Literacy Day has been observed since 1966 to remind the international community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities and societies, and the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies. At the 14th session of UNESCO’s general conference in 1966, the first ever International Literacy Day was declared and since then it has been celebrated annually on September 8.
International Literacy Day 2020
International Literacy Day 2020 is focusing on “Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond”.
This year, Literacy Day is more significant because of the COVID-19 crisis. The mode and focus of learning have changed as virtual classroom have replaced the usual ones and online interactions take the place of face to face discussions. Online Interaction, is fast growing to be the norm of society.
Themes for ILD2020 include:
Teaching and learning in COVID-19
The role of educators and changing pedagogies
Lifelong learning perspective
Did you know?
At least 773 million adults worldwide lack basic literacy skills.
According to recent consensus, about 775 million adults lack the minimum education that is required to be literate and of those, 60.7 million children are out of school or are rare attendees.
Schools have been closed down in over 190 countries during the COVID-19 crisis
The education of 1.27 billion children and youth has been disrupted
63 million primary and secondary teachers are affected in +165 countries
UNESCO International Literacy Day
Online Events
The global celebrations of International Literacy Day on 8 September 2020 will be composed of two virtual meetings:
- Meeting on ‘Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond: the role of educators and changing pedagogies’ (13:30-15:30 in Paris time)
- Meeting on the Laureates of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes 2020 (16:00-17:00 in Paris time).
Both meetings will be accessible by registering through Zoom.
Check out the following links for more information on the International Literacy Day:
