An event to promote multilingual education, mutual understanding, and peace
Our school is joining the celebration of International Literacy Day with various activities. This event was established by UNESCO and has been celebrated on September 8th since 1967.
With this event, which will be held at the Martin Felton Library of our school, we align with the spirit of highlighting the importance of literacy as the foundation of Human Rights and promoting initiatives to combat illiteracy worldwide. In this way, we want to share with our Bolivar Community a reminder that equitable access to education is essential in a just and equal society.
As a learning community, we are very interested in raising awareness that, despite the constant progress made around the world, literacy challenges persist: at least 763 million young people and adults lacked basic literacy skills in 2020. The recent COVID-19 crisis and other crises such as climate change and conflicts have exacerbated these challenges.
This year, International Literacy Day will be celebrated under the theme “Promoting Multilingual Education: Literacy for Mutual Understanding and Peace,” which resonates even more with us as a bilingual institution. There is an urgent need to harness the transformative potential of literacy to promote mutual understanding, social cohesion, and peace.
In today’s world, where multilingualism is a common practice for many, empowering individuals through the adoption of a multilingual approach based on their first language for the development of literacy and education is particularly effective due to its cognitive, pedagogical, and socioeconomic benefits. Such an approach can help our students promote mutual understanding and respect while solidifying community identities and collective histories.
The activities for this celebration have been designed with the understanding that while literacy is a victory for humanity, it is fragile: there is always the possibility of a relapse. Let this International Literacy Day at our Library be a reminder of this and an opportunity to honor all those dedicated to making universal literacy a reality, not just a goal.