International Literacy Day

The International Literacy Day (ILD) 2024 is being celebrated under the theme of ‘Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace’. Conflicts today threatens mutual understanding, harmonious co-existence, pluralism and peace, serving as a sharp reminder of the need to begin by constructing the defences of peace in the minds of people, in which literacy is central. Meanwhile, multilingualism is increasingly common in our world, in which approximately 7,000 living languages are unevenly spread across around 200 countries, with higher degrees of diversity in subSaharan Africa and Asia and the Pacific. This is due to a range of factors, including globalization, digitalization, and the increasing mobility of people. As recently as one decade ago, about two in three children grew up in a multilingual context. In 2022, the number of refugees, many of whom may need to master a host country’s language, reached 35 million, an increase of 8 million over 2021. More than 108.4 million people had been forcibly displaced due to persecution, conflict, violence or human rights violations, representing an increase of 19 million people over the previous year. Based on the current trend, the number of people who use more than one language in daily life could continue to grow in the coming decades. Meanwhile, about half of living languages are in danger of extinction by the end of the century. In 2021, 77% of communication in cyberspace was dominated by only 10 languages. Given that languages – oral, written, and sign languages – are not only essential tools for communication and knowledge management but also for embracing and preserving people’s identities, cultures, worldviews, and knowledge systems, conscious efforts are needed to use and preserve everyone’s first languages in daily life and in the public sphere. Globally, however, it is estimated that about 40% of the population does not have access to an education in a language they speak or understand. In Africa, 8 in 10 children learn in a language that is different from their first language, and the prospects of learning in one’s first language appear even slimmer for youth and adults, who may often be outside the formal education system. This not only hinders the acquisition of basic literacy skills, but also undermines linguistic and cultural diversity, creates epistemic and cultural hierarchies, and impacts social and economic development of individuals and communities, which could be detrimental to building inclusive, peaceful and sustainable societies.

In this context, The International Literacy Day 2024 will shed light on the transformative power of literacy to foster mutual understanding and peace in multilingual contexts, looking at relevant policies, programmes, practices, and governance, to accelerate progress towards the SDGs and beyond. Whereas ILD is traditionally an occasion to promote literacy for all age groups, ILD2024 will focus, in particular, on youth and adult literacy.

To harness the transformative power of literacy for fostering mutual understanding and peace requires actions grounded on the principles of literacy as a human right. The international community has resolved not only to accelerate progress towards SDG4 but also to radically change how we think, design and organize education, as well as act on our promises to create a more peaceful, just and sustainable world. Promoting literacy for building lasting peace has been integral to a range of recent key initiatives designed for these purposes, including UNESCO’s International Commission on the Futures of Education (UNESCO, 2021), the Seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII, June 2022), the Transforming Education Summit (TES) convened by the UN SecretaryGeneral (New York, September 2022), and a resulting global movement of 143 countries and partners committing to transforming education towards the Summit of the Future (New York, 22–23 September 2024).15

focus to literacy as well as vocational and basic skills.16 Up to 77% had developed and implemented policies on literacy and basic skills

Promoting literacy for fostering mutual understanding and peace calls for the alignment or integration of literacy and education for peace, global citizenship, human rights, and sustainable development, especially in the areas related to SDG Target 4.7 and those covered by the 2023 UNESCO Recommendation on Education for Peace and Human Rights, International Understanding, Cooperation, Fundamental Freedoms, Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development, in managing policies, programmes and practices. This includes reinforcing the component of peace education in literacy-related policy frameworks, while recognizing the importance of literacy and systematically integrating literacy programmes beyond formal education into national policy frameworks for achieving SDG Target 4.7. Mauritania, for instance, developed a plan for global citizenship education (GCED) and the prevention of extremism through education, and piloted a literacy and non-formal education programme integrating GCED. This intentional link is important; literate people can take actions that can be detrimental to peace. Promoting literacy and peace together can contribute not only to strengthening democratic values, peaceful coexistence, and community solidarity, but also to reducing socio-economic disparities, which can be a source of tension.

Mass Literacy Campaign facilitated first language-based literacy development of more than 4.7 million adults, using the 11 official languages recognized in the Constitution, including Braille, while introducing English to those learners. Linking literacy and language, however, needs to consider specific learning purposes and circumstances in a flexible manner. Refugees, migrants, and internationally displaced persons (IDPs), for instance, may need to prioritize mastering the host country's language for survival, social integration, and socio-economic empowerment where literacy provision based on FLB-ML is limited.

The Efforts to promote literacy need to be anchored in a broader ecosystem of lifelong learning, adopting whole-of-government and whole-of society approaches to integrate literacy learning into people’s lives and work. Promoting learning in varied settings and spaces requires enabling literate environments, in which people can become motivated to be more literate and can acquire, use and advance their literacy skills. There have been some promising initiatives on this front. The Republic of Korea, for instance, has developed ‘a national culture of learning’ characterized by community-based literacy development, based on a whole-of-society approach and a lifelong learning ecosystem, involving well-established local governance systems. The Suwon City, one of the 180 learning cities in the country, has developed a dense network of learning facilities located within a 5–10-minute walk from all homes. Viet Nam has also built literate environments towards a learning society, including libraries, museums, cultural centres, clubs and Community Learning Centres (CLCs)

How can an ecosystem and culture of lifelong learning be enriched to promote literacy to foster mutual understanding and peace in multilingual societies? What resources do we need? Who are the actors, and how should they be involved?

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