United Nations



PRESS RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE SEPTEMBER 8, 2020“Reading is the key to development. Adult literacy programs should not be the adjustment variable of education.” Audrey Azoulay, UNESCO Director-GeneralUNESCO COLLABORATES WITH THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OF GHANA TO CELEBRATE 2020 INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAYThe theme for this year ‘Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond: The role of educators and changing pedagogies’ will highlight literacy learning in a lifelong learning perspective and therefore mainly focus on youth and adults. The recent Covid-19 crisis has been a stark reminder of the existing gap between policy discourse and reality: a gap that already existed in the pre-Covid-19 era and is negatively affecting the learning of youth and adults who have no or low literacy skills and therefore tend to face multiple disadvantages.The Ghana celebration will focus on “Literacy teaching and learning in Ghana during the COVID-19 Crisis and after”. The purpose of this year’s celebration is to join other UN member states again to mark and reflect on the unmet gaps in literacy and lifelong learning especially for youth, adults and out-of-school children (OoSC) across Ghana prior to, during and after COVID-19. UNESCO Accra office in collaboration with the Non – Formal Education Division (NFED) of Ministry of Education will organize a series of activities leading up to, during, and after the celebration of the 2020 International Literacy Day in Ghana. These activities include the publication of eight consecutive articles on NFED literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond in some selected media; build a 5-10 minute documentary on some NFED activities and beneficiaries for TV and radio broadcast on 7th, 8th & 9th September 2020.Others are engaged in media debates on the relevance of NFED Adult Literacy Education -ALE, and lifelong learning, and how to bridge the gaps in Ghana during and after COVID-19 to achieve the SDGs. A a one-day community education will be organized at the Tomefa community in the Ga South district to encourage residents of Tomefa to comply with COVID-19 hygiene and safety protocols.The celebration in Ghana is to remind policymakers to improve on developing more inclusive literacy and lifelong learning opportunities for out-of-school children, and non-literate youth and adults, to ensure the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Ghana. To mark the day, UNESCO will participate in the main activity organized by NFED at Ablekuma metropolitan Assembly. The UNESCO Head of Accra Office and Country Representative, Mr. Abdourahame DIALLO will also participate in a virtual Conference on “Child Literacy as a Foundation for Future Development: Strategies in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond” organized by the Ghana Publishers Association (GPA).UNESCO in 1966 proclaimed September 8 as International Literacy Day. The day serves as a reminder to the global community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities, and societies, and the importance of strengthening efforts towards a more literate society.The Day will also give an opportunity to analyse the role of educators, as well as effective policies, systems, governance and measures that can support educators and learning. Through a virtual conference, UNESCO will initiate a collective global discussion to reimagine the literacy teaching and learning of youth and adults in the post-Covid-19 era towards the achievement of the SDG4. UNESCO’s International Literacy Prizes?2020 will also award five outstanding literacy programmes from Ghana, Mexico, Nepal, United Kingdom and Yemen.President of Just Commit Foundation , Mr. Janix Asare, Ghana will be awarded the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy. The award, established in 2005, with support from the Government of the People’s Republic of China, considers literacy amongst adults in rural areas and out-of-school youth, particularly girls and women. Prize winners will receive a medal, a diploma, and US$20.000. ().UNESCO’s International Literacy Prizes?2020Link to online public conferenceFollow #LiteracyDay on UNESCO?Twitter?and?Facebook.See also: (SDG4).?UNESCO’s?Strategy for Youth and Adult Literacy 2020-2025,??Futures of Education?initiative.-END - ................
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