National Adult Literacy Database

Highlights

International Literacy Day - Chronology (PDF)

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) celebrates International Literacy Day on September 8 every year. It calls attention to the need to eradicate illiteracy, one of UNESCO's primary concerns.

UNESCO was set up in the wake of the Second World War to construct the foundations of peace by preventing racism, indoctrination and the misuse of education. Yet sadly, once again, on the eve of the new millennium, we are witnesses of another armed conflict within Europe, following close behind others in Angola, Congo, Rwanda and elsewhere. Amid reports of human tragedy in the Albanian and Macedonian refugee camps we also hear of heart-warming humanitarian and education initiatives. Refugee teachers, having barely arrived in the camps, have spontaneously taken it on themselves to organize makeshift classes of different age groups. We pay tribute to their dedication and commitment.

Literacy should be seen as an important evolutionary variable in every society. The more a society progresses, the greater is the need for adjustment to new demands and pressures, making literacy a lifelong necessity for all in all societies. It is becoming abundantly clear that the processes by which individuals acquire, maintain and enhance literacy occur within a socio-economic context rife with inequality. This creates an environment conducive to unequal outcomes, which has long-term consequences for societies and individuals: families’ economic well-being and literacy affect how their children face the future—the outcomes of one generation lay the foundation for the conditions and opportunities of the next.

Negative outcomes such as economic insecurity and poor literacy skills doubly jeopardize individuals’ life conditions, and render their choice-making more problematic. Moreover, both economic insecurity and marginal literacy skills can limit people’s opportunities, hindering social cohesion and exacerbating social exclusion. UNESCO will continue to engage in activities designed to motivate, co-ordinate and mobilize national literacy efforts, as it has officially done since its' proclamation on September 8, the date of the inauguration of the '1965 World Conference of Ministers of Education on the Eradication of Illiteracy'.

Among the many initiatives taken to raise the awareness of public and private authorities, decision-makers, the media and the people concerned with the need for literacy work and the access of all to education, the most profound has been the annual UNESCO literacy prizes, instituted by UNESCO in 1966 and first awarded in 1967 with the Mohammed Reza Pahlafi Prize. This prize was, from 1967 to 1969, the only literacy award presented in the form of a prize and honourable mention. It was joined by the Nadezhda K. Krupskaya Prize in 1970, the International Reading Association Prize in 1979, the Noma and the Iraq Literacy Prize in 1980, and the The King Sejong Literacy Prize in 1989.

The Mohammed Reza Pahlafi Prize was last awarded in 1978. In 1991 the Nadezhda K. Krupskaya was terminated by the political transformation in the former USSR, and the Iraq Literacy Prize was terminated by the Gulf War.

From 1998, following the proposal of the Government of India, at the 154th session of the UNESCO Executive Board, the three remaining prizes were joined by the Malcolm Adiseshiah International Literacy Prize, established in commemoration of the late Dr. Malcolm Adiseshiah, former Deputy Director General of UNESCO and President of the International Literacy Prize Jury.

The four awards for International Literacy Day currently stand as follows:

1. The INTERNATIONAL READING ASSOCIATION Prize (US$15,000)
2. The NOMA Prize (US$15,000)
3. The KING SEJONG Literacy Prize (US$30,000, divided into two Awards of US$15,000 each since 1995), and
4. the MALCOLM ADISESHIAH International Literacy Prize (US$15,000).

The categories of recognition within each of the 4 prizes awarded are:

1. The Prizes themselves, which include a diploma, a silver medal and a $15,000 (US) cheque
2. The Honourable mentions (HM) which include a diploma and a bronze medal
3. The Recognitions (R) by the Jury, whereby meritorious candidates are named in the International Literacy Prize List (Palmares in French)