Islamabad - The International Literacy Day was observed yesterday across the globe including Pakistan to raise people’s awareness and concern for literacy issues in the world.
The theme for this year was “Literacy and Sustainable Societies.” Literacy skills are the prerequisite for the learning of a broader set of knowledge, skills, attitudes and values, required for creating sustainable societies. At the same time, progress in areas of sustainable development, such as health and agriculture, serves as an enabling factor in the promotion of literacy and literate environments.
Whether it’s reading or writing, literacy is an outlet to an untouchable world — imagination. Not only is literacy a basic human right, it is a fundamental building block for learning as well as a personal empowerment tool. It is the catalyst for social and global progress. International Literacy Day gives children and communities a chance to rediscover the joys of reading while raising awareness for those without access to education. International Literacy Day highlights the importance of literacy in areas such as health and education. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and its partners promote the day to underline the significance of literacy for healthy societies, with a strong emphasis on epidemics and communicable diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis and malaria.

According to UNESCO, about 774 million adults lack the minimum literacy skills.
One in five adults is still not literate and two-thirds of them are women. About 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out. However, literacy is also a cause for celebration on the day because there are nearly four billion literate people in the world.