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Highlighting the importance of literacy

10 Sep 2012

Saturday 8 September 2012 was International Literacy Day, a global awareness day that aims to highlight the importance of literacy to individuals, communities and societies. The theme adopted this year was Literacy and Peace, to demonstrate the multiple uses and value that literacy brings to people as it provides individuals with the skills to understand the world, to participate in democratic processes and to have a voice.

"Literacy is one of the main building blocks of learning," says Susan du Plessis, director of educational programs at Edublox, a South African organisation that offers classes and programmes that improve reading and learning skills. "An individual that struggles to read will struggle to learn and this difficulty will be carried with them through their school years and into later life. For this reason, the company is very supportive of International Literacy Day, as we recognise the critical role that literacy plays in people's lives and we have seen first-hand the change that can occur in people's lives, once they are able to read and comprehend what they have read successfully."

According to UNESCO's (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) 'Global Monitoring Report on Education for All (2006)', South and West Asia has the lowest regional adult literacy rate (58.6%), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (59.7%). Some 775 million adults worldwide lack minimum literacy skills; one in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women. It seems that literacy for all - children, youth and adults - is still an unaccomplished goal and an ever-moving target.

"It is never too late to learn to read," concludes du Plessis.

For more, go to www.edublox.co.za.