Overview

• UNESCO is hosting a global gathering at its Paris headquarters today with discussions, panel sessions and the presentation of the International Literacy Prizes.
• At least 739 million youth and adults still lack basic literacy skills, with four in ten children not reaching minimum reading proficiency and 272 million out of school in 2023.
• UN agencies caution that digitalisation can lead to double marginalisation, with additional concerns over privacy, surveillance, algorithmic bias, ethics and environmental impacts.
• Governments, NGOs and schools are conducting seminars, literacy drives and community activities worldwide during International Literacy Week and on September 8, including ULLAS initiatives in Indian states.
• International Literacy Day was proclaimed by UNESCO in 1966 following the 1965 Tehran conference, first observed in 1967, and aligns with SDG4 on quality education.