World Literacy Day 2012 - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon,

Illiteracy, Says Secretary-General in Message, Hobbles Efforts to Achieve Millennium Development Goals, Build Inclusive Knowledge Societies ---


Following is UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for International Literacy Day, observed on 8 September: ---

 Literacy provides tools for men and women to better understand the world and shape it to meet their aspirations. It is a source of individual dignity and a motor for the healthy development of society. International Literacy Day is an opportunity to celebrate this transformative force and mobilize to make the most of it.

--- Great strides have been made during the United Nations Literacy Decade that closes this year. Across the world, individuals, communities and countries have reached out to children, youth and adults to enable them to read, write and transform their lives. As a result, some 90 million young men and women and adults have become literate. We must now go much further. An estimated 775 million young people and adults around the world still cannot read or write; 122 million children of primary and lower secondary school age remain out of school; and millions still graduate with inadequate literacy skills. Women account for two-thirds of the world’s illiterate population. The persistence of such numbers hobbles our efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and to build the inclusive knowledge societies we need for the twenty-first century.

---- We must move faster to reach the most marginalized and uphold this basic human right. The global movement for education needs a big push. That is why, later this month, I will be launching a new Education First initiative.

--- The initiative focuses on three priorities: putting every child in school; improving the quality of learning; and fostering global citizenship. I call on world leaders and all involved with education to join this initiative. The cost of leaving millions of children and young people on the margins of society is far greater than the funds required to reach the international goals for education.

--- Ask any parent what they want for their children, even in war zones and disaster areas where food, medicine and shelter might be considered the highest priorities, and the answer is the same: education for children. Ask any child what he or she wishes to be when they grow up, and the answer is rooted in education. Education is the gateway to fulfilling those aspirations.

--- A literate world is a more peaceful world, and a more harmonious and healthy world. On this observance of International Literacy Day, let us pledge to join together to move the literacy agenda forward.

---

Message from the Director-General on the occasion of the International Literacy Day

This year, International Literacy Day has a special focus on the fundamental relationship between Literacy and Peace.

This has tremendous relevance in our current turbulent times. Countries with patterns of violence have some of the lowest literacy rates in the world. Conflict remains one of the major barriers to the attainment of the Education for All (EFA) and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Conflict-affected countries are home to over 40% of the world’s out-of-school population of primary school age. 

We must not allow conflict to deprive children and adults of the crucial opportunity of literacy. Literacy is a fundamental human right, and the foundation of all education and lifelong learning. Literacy transforms the lives of people, allowing them to make informed choices and empowering individuals to become agents of change. Lasting peace depends on the development of literate citizenship and access to education for all. Amidst political upheaval and escalating violence in many parts of the world, literacy must be a priority in the peace-building agenda of all nations. 

Peace and sustainable development are interdependent, and it is crucial for the two to develop and strengthen simultaneously. Literacy is also a development accelerator, enabling societies to grow more inclusively and sustainably. Literacy programmes can become a key component of future development strategies, opening new opportunities and skills for all. All of this is vital to achieving Education for All and the Millennium Development Goals.

Progress has been made toward reaching the 2015 targets for literacy, but formidable challenges remain ahead. These challenges need to be met with stronger international resolve, if we are to deliver on the promises made in Dakar in 2000. UNESCO estimates that the global adult illiterate population stands at 775 million, while there are still 122 million illiterate youth worldwide. Women and girls make up nearly two thirds of the illiterate adult and youth population. Great potential is being lost. 

We can end this cycle of exclusion. We all have a shared interest in ensuring that the world becomes a more literate place. As we approach the Education for All deadline in 2015, we have gained new momentum. UNESCO has worked tirelessly to place education and literacy at the top of the global development agenda. The United Nations Secretary-General’s “Education First” initiative, to be officially launched later this month, shall be a strong advocacy platform at the highest level. 

The winners of this year’s UNESCO International Literacy Prizes demonstrate how successful literacy programmes can achieve outstanding results. They are living examples of the central role of literacy in promoting human rights, gender equality, conflict resolution and cultural diversity.

Today, I call upon stakeholders at all levels to strengthen partnerships that will accelerate quality literacy provision. It is essential that literacy programmes incorporate the values of peace, human rights and civic values, if literacy is to become a true means of empowerment. It can be the harbinger of peace and development. Let us make this happen, together and faster.

Irina Bokova

World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education

The UNESCO World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education

The UNESCO World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education

With over 120 maps, charts and tables, the UNESCO World Atlas of Gender Equality in Education enables readers to visualize the educational pathways of girls and boys in terms of access, participation and progression from pre-primary to tertiary education.

The Atlas features a wide range of sex-disaggregated data and gender indicators from the UNESCO Institute for Statistics. It also illustrates the extent to which gender disparities in education have changed since 1970 and are shaped by factors such as national wealth, geographic location, investment in education and fields of study.

Also planned for mid-2012 is an online data mapping tool for tracking trends over time, adapting the maps and exporting the data

Download the Publication

>> The Full Publication  

>> Chapter 1: Increased worldwide demand for quality schooling (1,16 Mo)

>> Chapter 2: Girls’ right to education (3,79 Mo )

>> Chapter 3: Enrolment and gender trends: primary education  (2,52 Mo)

>> Chapter 4: Enrolment and gender trends: secondary education (1,60 Mo)

>> Chapter 5: Enrolment and gender trends: tertiary education (1,00 Mo)

>> Chapter 6: Trends in school-life expectancy ( 4,13 Mo)

>> Chapter 7: Gender trends: adult and youth literacy ( 5,82 Mo)

>> Chapter 8: How policies affect gender equality in education (6,94 Mo)