International Literacy Day
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Being able to read and write is one of the most important and worthwhile things that you could ever want to do. Unfortunately, despite many people being desperate to broaden their education, not everyone in the world has this privilege – both in developing and developed countries. So, to celebrate the importance of literacy and to raise awareness of those who don’t have the opportunity to learn, we have International Literacy Day.
So, what’s it all about? Well, every year the world celebrates International Literacy Day to raise awareness and work together to give a better standard of education to everyone. Those who are able to read and write are more likely to get out of poverty and have a better standard of living. It’s shocking to know that 775 million adults in the world are illiterate, which could be having a huge impact on their life. It’s also evident that there is a correlation between being literate and earning a higher income, with the average income per capita for countries with a literacy rate of only 55% is $600, with the income increasing as the literacy rate does.
This year, International Literacy Day was celebrated on the 8th September. On the day, people celebrated in many different ways; from hosting a book sale or exchange (giving others the opportunity to engage in wider reading), to having a readathon to see how many books you can get through in a week, or even hosting a writing competition. There are endless ways to enjoy this day and share the experience with others. If you didn’t get a chance to get involved this year, remember that you can do all of these things any other day of the year. It’s always beneficial to pick up a book or write about something you find interesting, so don’t underestimate what it can do for you or others. You may think that passing a book onto a friend who can’t afford one isn’t particularly important, but every little helps.
While it is important to have a lot of fun on this day, we must remember the real reason behind the event – to raise awareness and money to help people all over the world. Many people choose to fundraise in a whole range of ways and donate this to The World Literacy Foundation (which you can do by clicking here). Enjoy!