8th September is the International Day of Literacy
One of the basic things which is needed for the progress of human beings and society is literacy. Without literacy we can’t think of a developed society . We know that literacy is a fundamental human right for all. It opens the entrance to the enjoyment of other human rights, greater freedoms, and global citizenship. Literacy is a foundation for people to acquire broader knowledge, skills, values, attitudes, and behaviors to foster a culture of lasting peace based on respect for equality and non-discrimination, the rule of law, solidarity, justice, diversity, and tolerance and to build harmonious relations with oneself, other people and the planet.
But the challenge is that despite progress, at least 739 million youth and adults worldwide still lack basic literacy skills in 2024. At the same time, 4 in 10 children are not reaching minimum proficiency in reading, and 272 million children and adolescents were out of school in 2023. These are more common in developing and least developed countries.
There were times when putting signatures or one who can write their own names were considered as literates. Things have changed now and we need to look at a more broader definition of literacy. It is now understood as a means of identification, understanding, interpretation, creation, and communication in an increasingly digital, text-mediated, information-rich and fast-changing world.
It is a continuum of learning and proficiency in reading, writing and using numbers throughout life and is part of a larger set of skills, which include digital skills, media literacy, education for sustainable development and global citizenship as well as job-specific skills.
There is no doubt that literacy empowers and liberates people. Beyond its importance as part of the right to education, literacy improves lives by increasing capabilities which in turn reduces poverty, increases participation in the livelihoods and has encouraging effects on health and sustainable development. More importantly, women empowered by literacy have a positive ripple effect on all aspects of development.
One of the days which is observed to celebrate the importance of literacy is on 8th September. Since 1967, the annual celebrations of International Literacy Day (ILD) have taken place on 8 September around the world to remind policy-makers, practitioners, and the public of the critical importance of literacy for creating a more literate, just, peaceful, and sustainable society. The theme for this year is “promoting literacy in the digital era.”
In the age of Artificial Intelligence and technology we can’t ignore the importance of digital literacy. While digital tools can help expand learning opportunities for marginalized groups, including 739 million young people and adults who lack basic literacy skills, this digital shift also risks creating double marginalisation – exclusion not only from traditional literacy learning but also from the benefits of the digital age. Digitalisation also raises other concerns, including privacy issues, privacy, digital surveillance, reinforced biases, ethics, the risk of passive consumption, and environmental impacts.
UNESCO defines digital literacy as the ability to access, manage, understand, integrate, communicate, evaluate and create information safely and appropriately through digital technologies for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship. It includes skills such as computer literacy, ICT literacy, information literacy and media literacy which aim to empower people, and in particular youth, to adopt a critical mindset when engaging with information and digital technologies, and to build their resilience in the face of disinformation, hate speech and violent extremism.
We should know that beyond reading and writing on paper, literacy in the digital era enables people to access, understand, evaluate, create, communicate and engage with digital content safely and appropriately. Literacy is also central for fostering critical thinking, discerning credible information and navigating complex information environments. It is up to us how we take advantage of digital literacy. We must ensure that there is no digital divide so that everyone, whether rich or poor, may access the digital world.
(With direct inputs from UNESCO publication and feedback may be sent to bkranjan@gmail.com)
Ranjan K Baruah
Ganeshguri,Guwahati