UNESCO, World Vision And KOICA Mark International Literacy Day At Dwenase

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in collaboration with World Vision, non-formal education division and KOICA have marked international literacy day at Dwenase in the Fanteakwa District to inculcate the habit of reading in children.

Reading on behalf of UNESCO Chairman on the theme “Literacy in a digital world”, Mr. Nyavor Kwasi Prosper said that worldwide, 750 million adults today still lack even the most basic literacy skills and also some 264 million children and youth are not benefiting from school education.

He indicated that international surveys show that a large share of adult and youth population all over the world, including developed countries, are inadequately equipped with the basic digital skills required to function fully in today’s societies and workplace.

He stressed that information and communication technologies are creating opportunities to address this challenge; thus, digital tools can help expand access to learning and improve its quality.

“Information and communication technologies have the power to reach the unreached, improve the monitoring of literacy progress, facilitate skills assessment and make the management and governance of skills delivery systems more efficient,” he stated.

He reiterated that collective action is needed in order to create and seize new opportunities to take forward sustainable development goal 4 on education and lifelong learning for all; however, partnerships between governments, civil society and the private sector are essential today to promote literacy in digital world.

“I see the Global Alliance for Literacy within a Lifelong Learning Framework as a model of the concerted efforts we need to advance the global agenda and support national literacy initiatives,” he suggested.

Mr. Kwasi Prosper maintained that International Literacy Day offers a moment to review the progress and come together to tackle the challenges ahead; emphasizing that this year’s event is devoted to better understand the type of literacy required in a digital world to build more inclusive, equitable and sustainable societies.

“Everyone should be able to make the most of the benefits of the new digital age, for human rights, for dialogue and exchange, for more sustainable development...digital technologies permeate all spheres of our lives, fundamentally shaping how we live, work, learn and socialize,” he read.

The representative of KOICA, Yukyum Kim also pleaded with parents to desist from the habit of giving their children to early marriages and rather equip them to learn to better their lives in this digital world.

In line to address the illiteracy problem in the country, World Vision through their Education Technical Programme Manager, Andrew Ofosu-Dankyi revealed that they have established a reading camp worth 2.5 million Ghana Cedis groom the children into developing the habit of reading from their infancy.

He bemoaned that only 2 percent of Ghanaian children can read per the survey available to them [World Vision]; thus, this reading camp will help influence others to adopt and pick the interest in reading to close the gap of illiteracy in the country.