IlliteraCity :: Project Literacy

#IlliteraCity

IlliteraCity

Project Literacy: 2018

Gender Equality

Twice as many women live here

Two thirds of the world’s 750 million illiterate adults are women. This problem repeats through the generations, from parent to child. 31 million girls will never even get the chance to go to school. The repercussions of illiteracy will be felt throughout these girls’ lives, perpetuating issues of gender discrimination and even awareness of their basic human rights.

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Join us to unlock LiteraCity - a world where women thrive.

FCB Inferno and Mark Denton Draw Attention to Challenges of Adult Illiteracy :: Project Literacy via The Drum

Ad of the Day: FCB Inferno and Mark Denton draw attention to challenges of adult illiteracy

The Drum: 4.18.2018 by Kyle O'Brien

@rewritinglives

FCB Inferno is continuing its work with Project Literacy, enlisting ad legend Mark Denton to help draw attention to the challenges associated with the issue of adult illiteracy.

The ‘Daunting World’ campaign for Project Literacy – a movement founded and convened by global education company Pearson to help advance global literacy – uses a series of images that bring to life some of the challenges faced by adults who struggle to read and write.

FCB Inferno partnered with Denton to create the images, a suite of eye-catching photographs taken by and art directed by Denton. They show everyday objects such as detergent bottles, greetings cards and board games, but on closer inspection of the image, the viewer will realize that the messages on each object explains the challenges these everyday objects can present for people who cannot read.

The stories behind the images are real, having been relayed to the Project Literacy team by the newly literate adults they have been working with as part of the campaign. One image of a medicine bottle, for example, directly reflects the story told by Wanda, a now-literate adult from Philadelphia, who movingly described the anxiety she felt each time she had to give her children medicine when they were sick because she could not read the instructions on the packaging.  READ MORE >>

First Words

What does it take to break the cycle of illiteracy?

Project Literacy: March 2017

Watch First Words to find out.

It is a sad fact that almost one billion adults worldwide cannot read or write a simple sentence. Imagine not being able to fill out a form at the hospital, vote in an election, take the right bus, or send a text message to a loved one. That’s the reality for one in ten people alive today. What’s more, it’s a reality that affects more than just the individual; it affects their families and generations to come. Children of illiterate parents are more likely to grow up to be illiterate and go on to have illiterate children themselves.

With your help, we can break this cycle.

Smartphones Will Read and Write Better Than 32 Million American Adults in Next Decade

Smartphones Will Read and Write Better Than 32 Million American Adults in Next Decade

PR Newswire: 3.10.2017 by Project Literacy founded by Pearson

@rewritinglives

While progress in improving human literacy rates has stalled since 2000^[1] -- leaving 758 million^[2] adults worldwide and 32 million Americans^[3] illiterate-- a new report predicts that technological advances will soon enable over 2 billion^[4] smartphones to read and write. At the current rate of technological progress, devices and machines powered by AI and voice recognition software will surpass the literacy level of one in seven American adults within the next ten years.  

In their report, '2027: Human vs. Machine Literacy' the global campaign Project Literacy and Professor Brendan O'Connor, University of Massachusetts Amherst, call for society to commit to upgrading its people at the same rate as upgrading its technology,  so that by 2030 no child is born at risk of poor literacy. They highlight:

 > Machine literacy already exceeds the literacy abilities of 3% of the US population who are non-literate^[5]

 > There are more software engineers^[6] in the United States than school teachers^[7].  We are focusing so much on teaching algorithms and AI to be better at language that we are forgetting that 50% of adults cannot read a book written at an eighth grade level^[8]

 > 32 million American adults can not currently read a road sign.  Yet 10 million self-driving cars are predicted to be on the road by 2020^[9].

 > The 2017 U.S. Federal Education Budget for schools is $40.4bn^[10]. In 2015, investment in AI reached $47.2 billion and is expected to keep on increasing.^[11]

Project Literacy, founded and convened by Pearson, is a campaign backed by more than 90 partners as diverse as UNESCO, 

Microsoft, Worldreader, the Clinton Foundation, Room to Read, Doctors of the World, the Hunger Project and ProLiteracy.

"'Machine reading' is not close to mastering the full nuances of human language and intelligence, despite this idea capturing the imagination of popular culture in movies such as 'Her'. However advances in technology mean that it is likely 'machines' will achieve literacy abilities exceeding those of one in seven Americans within the next decade" said Professor Brendan O'Connor, University of Massachusetts Amherst. "I was interested in exploring this topic as while there has been a lot of discussion around machine learning and machine reading, directly comparing machine literacy with human literacy really highlights the dichotomy between the two."

"Our new report highlights the gulf between technological and human progression. It is predicted that more than two billion smart phones will soon be capable of reading and writing, but 758 million people in the world still lack basic literacy skills and this skills gap is being passed on from generation to generation.  It doesn't have to be a zero-sum game -  technology has a crucial role to play in the fight against illiteracy' said Kate James, Project Literacy spokesperson and Chief Corporate Affairs and Global Marketing Officer at Pearson.

Project Literacy commissioned the report to draw attention to the shocking lack of progress being made in fighting illiteracy as well as shine a spotlight on the potential for technology to help bring about change.  The global movement aim to harness the power of technology to tackle the illiteracy crisis through a range of technology-led partnerships [See Notes to Editors for Case Studies].

The report was launched ahead of Project Literacy's upcoming presence at SxSW in Austin, where representatives will be on the ground raising awareness of the issue of illiteracy among the tech-savvy festival goers. Project Literacy will be encouraging the public to get involved in the fight against illiteracy through a number of unique experiences including an interactive Spelling Bee and thought-provoking talks. To support the initiative, Pearson will be matching donations from the festival on a 1:1 basis [See Notes to Editors for full details].

Alphabet of Illiteracy :: Project Literacy

Alphabet of Illiteracy

The Alphabet of Illiteracy uses each letter of the alphabet to highlight an issue that could be tackled if literacy was improved.

There are 757 million people who cannot read a single sentence. The consequences of illiteracy go far beyond not being able to read a book – it fuels some of the world’s biggest problems.

Project Literacy is a global campaign supported by 40 charities and educational organisations with the target that by 2030 no newborn child will face a life of poor literacy. Campaigners have launched a petition urging action on illiteracy, which will be presented to the UN in New York on International Literacy Day on 8 September.

Last September, world leaders promised to reduce illiteracy substantially and end all gender disparities in education by 2030 under the sustainable development goals.

“Literacy is a key component in achieving the UN’s sustainable development goals. Without literacy, each of the 17 goals will be limited by the inability of citizens to be sufficiently informed on key issues, and less empowered to take action,” said Dan Wagner, Unesco’s chair in learning and literacy at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Lives Unseen: experience the life of someone living with illiteracy :: Project Literacy

The Lives Unseen: experience the life of someone living with illiteracy

Project Literacy

The following stories have all been inspired by real people who were kind enough to share a glimpse into their responsibilities, fears, hopes and coping strategies as an iliterate person.

Project Literacy is sharing stories via virtual reality in the hopes of inspiring you to join Project Literacy and advocate for improved literacy on a global scale. So put on a mask and experience a frozen moment in the life of someone living with illiteracy.

The Unsigned Petition

Project Literacy has left 757 million spaces on this petition to represent every illiterate person on the planet. Illiteracy fuels poverty, hunger, radicalisation, the spread of HIV, child brides, infant mortality and gender inequality. And it has to stop. Sign for those who can't.