Marked annually on 8 September, the International Day this year is devoted to better understanding the type of literacy required in a digital world to build more inclusive, equitable and sustainable societies.<\/p>\n
In Paris, opening the International Conference on International Literacy Day, Ms. Bokova today said that technologies must be more accessible and work for people.<\/p>\n
\u201cFirst, they must be inclusive, bridging gaps, not deepening them. Second, they must be underpinned by respect for human rights and dignity. All this gives rise to new questions about the\u00a0meaning of literacy<\/a>\u00a0today,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Also speaking at the event, Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, who is the Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO Special Envoy on Literacy for Development, emphasized that literacy in today\u2019s world is at the heart of social participation and engagement.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is no inclusiveness if we leave behind 750 million people who lack the basic literacy skills to participate in today\u2019s digital world,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is no social cohesion if we allow young people to develop feelings of exclusion and lack of self-confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n Most people who are illiterate around the world \u2013 more than 60 per cent \u2013 are women, according to Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO figures.<\/p>\n As part of this year\u2019s events, Ä¢¹½ÊÓƵESCO awarded its annual Confucius Prize for Literacy to The Citizens Foundation, a Pakistani literacy programme with an online platform for women and out-of-school girls. In 2016, the programme enrolled 14,020 girls and women, of whom nearly 80 per cent completed the curricula, per\u00a0information<\/a>\u00a0on the winning organization. Local communities run nearly all of the Foundation\u2019s 1,440 school units in the poorest slums and villages in the country.<\/p>\n The other winners this year are from Canada, Colombia, Jordan and South Africa.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.unesco.org\/new\/fileadmin\/MULTIMEDIA\/HQ\/ERI\/images\/GIF_450px.gif\")
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