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| Sunday, 4 September 2005 |
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Junior Observer |  |
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Int'l Literacy Day - September 8 : Education for All
Despite the many advances made in the fields of information and knowledge, 861 million adults over the world are illiterate while 113 million children don't have access to schools. Even some of those that have been to schools cannot be called literate under modern guidelines. As we celebrate International Literacy Day on September 8, it is time to think about those who may not even be able to read this report. Literacy could take many forms - on paper, on computer screens, on television, posters or signs. The goal of universal literacy calls not only for more effective efforts but also for renewed political will, and for action at all levels - locally, nationally and internationally. The theme this year is 'Literacy and Sustainable Development' and will take into account the role played by women in development activities. The International Literacy Day was declared in 1966 by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The idea to celebrate such a day was developed by the World Congress of Ministers of Education on the Eradication of Illiteracy when they met in Iran in September 1965. September 8, the day the congress convened, was declared as the Literacy Day. The UN Literacy Decade - Education for All is also effective from 2003 to 2012. The UN General Assembly welcomed the International Plan of Action for the Decade and decided that UNESCO should spearhead this plan on an international level. Literacy as Freedom was declared as the theme for the Decade, which aims to extend the use of literacy to those who currently don't have access to it. It will focus on the needs of adults with the goal that everyone should be able to use literacy to communicate with their community, in wider society and beyond. It aims to focus on the poorest and marginalised sections of society who have so far been left out of the drive towards literacy. The outcome of such efforts will be a locally sustainable literary environment. The objective of the Education for All programme is to increase literacy rates to 50 per cent by 2015. The Plan of Action in this regard tackles policy change, flexible programmes, capacity building, research, community participation, monitoring and evaluation. ############ Little helping hands Seven-year-old Nicolas Galema from France was one of many children from around the world who was shocked by the devastation caused by the December 26 tsunami. He is one of the kids, who without just shedding tears for the victims, did something to ease their plight. Nicolas, born in France, sent many packages of clothing soon after the tsunami, to be distributed among child victims in the Moratuwa area. He is now in Sri Lanka, on holiday, with his father Guillaume and his Lankan grandparents Grace and Dharma. ############ Touching gesture by little Olivia Olivia Bertram, an eight-year-old girl from the UK has raised more than 600 sterling pounds for tsunami victims in Sri Lanka. Little Olivia, who is a student of Newton Prep School in Central London, raised the money after watching the horrible tragedy of December 26, 2004 on television, when she decided to donate her pocket money and also sponsored a bike ride with her grandmother. Olivia cycled 20 km through the Thames Valley to raise the money despite the freezing cold and northerly winds. She has handed over the money to a Sri Lankan resident in London, who in turn handed over the money to the Chairman of the Odel Foundation, Norman Gunawardena. The money will be allocated for the Foundation's housing project in Balapitiya. This is a very touching example of how a little girl on her own initiative collected money for tsunami victims. Odel launched a project in the Balapitiya area with the aim of
constructing 50 houses for a few families affected by the tsunami
disaster. Phase II of the housing development project has commenced, with
the construction of three new houses already under way. |
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The world including Sri Lanka has made vast strides in the field of
literacy and almost four billion people now count themselves among the
literate. But literacy for all including children, youth and adults is
still an unaccomplished goal. 
