Literacy Day: Literacy
and Sustainable Societies – September 8
The theme of International
Literacy Day 2015 is Literacy and Sustainable Societies.
Literacy is a key driver for sustainable development. Literacy skills are the
prerequisite for the learning of a broader set of knowledge, skills, attitudes
and values, required for creating sustainable societies. At the same time,
progress in areas of sustainable development, such as health and agriculture,
serves as an enabling factor in the promotion of literacy and literate
environments.
The recipients of the two UNESCO King Sejong
Literacy Prizes are:
Associação
Progresso, a Mozambican nongovernmental organization recognized for its
effective ‘Literacy in Local Languages, Springboard for Gender Equality’
programme in Mozambican languages. It has achieved good results by building on
international standards and research, training facilitators and involving the
community in designing, monitoring and improving delivery.
Sri Lanka’s National
Institute of Education, is honoured for its ‘Open School Programme’, which
addresses the learning needs of disadvantaged groups and offers an alternative
route for out-of-school youth and adults to resume academic or technical and
vocational training. It also provides continuing education to working and
farming communities to improve their income generating activities. Furthermore,
it takes education to the doorsteps of differently abled people who cannot
attend learning centres or institutions.
The laureates of the three UNESCO Confucius
Prize for Literacy are:
“Platform of Associations in Charge of ASAMA and
Post-ASAMA”, an NGO in Madagascar that developed a comprehensive approach to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by establishing partnerships
between the national authorities and 66 other NGOs. The programme provides a
range of literacy courses for illiterates who account for 40% of the
population, technical and vocational training at all levels and supports
graduates in their efforts to find employment or start their own business. It
has been replicated in Burkina Faso and Chad.
‘Juan Luis Vives
School of Valparaiso’, a school in Chile, is recognized for its programme
Alfabetización de las personas privadas de libertad’ (Literacy for People
Deprived of Liberty), which has been providing formal basic education to
prisoners so as to favour their reintegration into society once they have
served their sentence. The programme has been able to achieve significant
results in overcoming the learning challenges experienced by many inmates.
‘Svatobor’
an Association, in Slovakia, is honoured for its ‘Romano Barardo’
programme, which helps the Roma overcome social exclusion and enjoy their basic
human rights. It applies a highly innovative concept linking environmental
sustainability to nutrition and vocational training. Among other activities,
the programme teaches agriculture to help members of the community improve the
yield of their kitchen gardens, facilitates ecological sustainability and
broadens educational options for marginalized community members helping the
Roma settle and become part of local communities.
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