Lois Otse Adams
Literacy is a process by which you expand your knowledge of reading and writing in order to develop your thinking and learning habit for the purpose of understanding yourself and the world. This process is fundamental to man, in achieving competence in every educational subject and achieving success in life. It also means having the ability to communicate effectively and to make sense of the world.
When a man/woman lacks vital literacy skills it holds them back at every stage of their life. For example, as a child you will not be able to succeed at school, as a young adult you will be locked out of the job market, and as a parent you will not be able to support your own child’s learning and upbringing. This intergenerational cycle makes social mobility and a fairer society more difficult.
If you live with low literacy skills you may not be able to read a book or newspaper, understand road signs or price tags, make sense of your teachers’ timetable, fill out a form at the bank, read instructions on medicines, operate the computer or use the internet.
The above has posed a threat to the global society, and this has called for the theme of the 2022 International Literacy Day, ‘Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces; Exploring Opportunities and Possibilities’. It is an opportunity to rethink the fundamental importance of literacy learning spaces to build resilience and ensure quality, equitable, and inclusive education for all. So do not be left out of the positive effects of this year’s theme to transform your space, the space that has been in dire need of both formal and informal education.
Since 1967, International Literacy Day (ILD) celebrations have taken place annually around the world 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. Despite progress made, literacy challenges persist with 771 million illiterate people around the world, and research reveals that most are women, who still lack basic reading and writing skills and are faced with increased vulnerability.
Rapidly changing global context took a new meaning over the past years, hampering the progress of global literary efforts. In the aftermath of the pandemic, nearly 24 million learners might never return to formal education, out of which, 11 million are projected to be girls and young women. To ensure no one is left behind, there is an urgent need to enrich and transform the existing learning spaces through an integrated approach and enable literacy learning in the perspective of lifelong learning.
Nigeria, over the years has been one of the leading advocacy countries for the improvement of learning spaces in girl-child and women. At the global level, a two-day hybrid international event will be organized on 8 and 9 September 2022, in Côte d’Ivoire. The International Literacy Day global celebration lies at the heart of regional, country and local levels. As such, this year’s outstanding programmes and literacy practices will be announced through the 2022 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes award ceremony.
The level of 2022 awareness is at its peak because low levels of literacy have undermined the economic competitiveness of the global society, costing the taxpayers huge amounts annually.
The third of businesses are not satisfied with young people’s literacy skills at the workforce, following the global campaigns and collaborations, a similar number of them have organised remedial training for young recruits to improve their basic skills, including literacy and communication writing.
Having very poor literacy skills means that one can understand short straightforward texts on familiar topics accurately and independently, and obtain information from everyday sources, but reading information from unfamiliar sources, or on unfamiliar topics, could cause problems. This is also known as being functionally illiterate.
It is a known fact that many adults are reluctant to admit to their literacy difficulties and refuse to ask for help. One of the most important aspects of the global campaign is to support those adults with low literacy levels, to increase their self-esteem and persuade them of the benefits of improving their reading and writing ability. This is because no parent should be allowed to fail in parenting and family administration.
Each nation is unique and has a different definition of basic literacy skills, and disposition in various ways, so collectively, each country is to transform the literary learning spaces, explore opportunities and possibilities according to their uniqueness in line with global practice.
Charity they say begins at home, there are empty spaces around us, explore and teach, to ensure literacy transformation for a a more literate and sustainable society.
