World Literacy Day

- Thinakkural Editorial

(September 09, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) “Literacy is the best remedy”. “Literacy is a human right” These are the slogans of the current year’s Literacy Day.

The world is observing the International Literacy Day on Monday (September 8). Established in 1965 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the International Literacy Day is observed every year, on this day.

Especially dedicated to the cause of literacy, the World Literacy Day is observed with the aim to spread the message of literacy among children and youth living across the world.

Since its inception, this day became a special occasion for literacy awareness and many educational programmes featured the particular day. But in the year 1990, the United Nations General Assembly provided a boost to global literacy by announcing that year as International Literacy Year.

The fact there are a large number of illiterate people in the developing countries reveals that this is due to poverty. There is stress on employing literacy in fighting against HIV, Aids, TB, Malaria etc.

The special year signified the ongoing commitment of the world community to recognize and support literacy as a key to personal development and to the socio-economic progress of nations.
(An English translation of the Editorial in Thinakkural, a Tamil daily, based in Colombo.) - Sri Lanka Guardian