UNESCO marks International Literacy Day through a virtual conference
Article published on 08-09-2020
International Literacy Day is marked annually by UNESCO on September 8, starting in 1967. This year, UNESCO focuses on how innovative and effective pedagogies and teaching methodologies can be used in literacy programs for young people and adults, as well as on the role of educators in the educational process. Through a virtual conference, UNESCO will initiate a global collective discussion on youth and adult literacy in the post COVID-19 era.
Despite progress, literacy continues to be a challenge in contemporary society. At least 773 million people worldwide today lack basic literacy skills and more than 617 million children and adolescents do not achieve minimum levels of reading and math skills. The current COVID-19 crisis has profoundly affected opportunities for schooling and lifelong learning worldwide, especially for young people and adults with low or no literacy skills. In April, there was a peak of 1.596 billion children affected by school closures in 192 countries, which amounts for 91.2% of all pupils and students enrolled in a form of education.
In terms of literacy, Romania is well placed globally. According to the 2018 data of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, the literacy rate in our country is 99.43% for people aged 15-24, 98.84% for people aged 15 and over, and 98.11 % for persons aged 65 and over, without gender disparities.
Read below the summary of the discussions at the UNESCO virtual conference!
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