International Literacy Day is observed every year on September 8 across the globe to remind the public of the importance of literacy as a matter of dignity and human rights and to advance the literacy agenda towards a more literate and sustainable society.
The day is celebrated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) at the global, regional, country, and local levels across the world. At the global level, a conference will be organised in person and online on September 8, 2023, in Paris, France.
This global celebration, as per the official website, will comprise the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes award ceremony announcing this year’s outstanding winning programmes.
International Literacy Day 2023 Theme, History
The theme this year is ‘Promoting literacy for a world in transition: Building the foundation for sustainable and peaceful societies’.
International Literacy Day 2023 will be an opportunity to accelerate progress in the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG4) on education and lifelong learning and to reflect on the role of literacy in building more inclusive, peaceful, just, and sustainable societies.
Although the day to mark International Literacy Day was set up by UNESCO on October 26, 1966, in the 14th session of UNESCO’s general conference, International Literacy Day was first celebrated in 1967. The purpose of this day is to emphasise the value of literacy to people, communities, and society as literacy is the path to a well-educated and efficient society.
