International Literacy Day is celebrated on 8th September. This day is celebrated worldwide to highlight the importance of Literacy and to develop literacy as an instrument to help individuals, communities, and societies. The United Nation’s International Literacy Day is an international observance and not a public holiday. UNESCO and its partners work hard to underline the importance of literacy for healthy societies, with a strong significance on epidemics and other communicable diseases like HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis.

“The world has changed since 1966 – but our determination to provide every woman and man with the skills, capacities, and opportunities to become everything they wish, in dignity and respect, remains as firm as ever. Literacy is a foundation to build a more sustainable future for all” – UNESCO Director-General

History of International Literacy Day

Fifty years ago, this day was decided by UNESCO (The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) on November 7th in the year 1965 to celebrate it on September 8th annually. This day was observed for the first time in the year 1966. Literacy is as essential and important as food to be alive. It is helpful in eliminating poverty, managing population growth, achieving gender equality, etc. International Literacy Day is celebrated to motivate people to get a proper education and to understand their duties to the family, society, and the country. According to The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), about 774 million adults don’t even have the minimum literacy skills. 1 in 5 adults is not literate yet and two-thirds of those adults are women. About 75 million children discontinued school and few more attend classes irregularly or drop out. Also literacy is also a reason for celebration on the day because there are about 4 billion literate people in the world.

International Literacy Day

Other Celebrations on September 8

September 8 is also celebrated as

How to Celebrate the Day

Celebrating the day is quite easy and very simple to remember. Celebrate the day by joining the events connected by UNESCO to create awareness about Literacy and also post pictures and share your thoughts about the day with others on social media using the hashtag #LiteracyDay.

Thank you for reading the post. You can celebrate every day with Happydays365.org and Happy International Literacy Day 2023.