Every year since 1967, International Literacy Day has been celebrated on September 8. Learning to read and write is a fundamental human right. Sadly, over 17% percent of the human population (that’s over 1.3 billion people) is illiterate—but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have access to the same education available to the rest of the world. Literacy is an important factor for sustainable development; it enables greater participation in the labor market; improves child and family health and nutrition; reduces poverty and expands life opportunities. Improving overall literacy rates automatically helps decreasing gender inequality as well, since in many underdeveloped areas, women have less educational opportunities.

illuminAid Celebrates International Literacy Day in 2 key ways.

Bypassing Literacy Barrier.
By teaching Local Video Trainers how to create educational videos in local languages, illuminAid bypasses the literacy barrier. This way, essential education about health, hygiene, maternity care and much more can be shared with the rural populations in many of the poorest countries in the world. illuminAid is convinced that video cannot only bypass literacy barriers, but it can also help increase literacy rates overall!

2. Using Video to Increase Literacy.

illuminAid also celebrates the International Day of Literacy in bringing literacy via video. Using video to teach basic reading and language skills can be a very effective way to reach students of all ages.

Here are a few examples:

When we visited Cambodia, we worked with the NGO Room to Read to facilitate a workshop aimed at training literacy development skills to local teachers. The workshop took place in Siem Reap, Cambodia and included staff from nine different countries. Using their new skills, Room to Read staff will disseminate the videos in their home countries to empower teachers and strengthen literacy development. Read more about our project in Cambodia ->

In Ethiopia, illuminAid trained staff from both Save the Children and World Vision who were working on Literacy Boost, a program that helps improve reading opportunities for children by involving parents and communities in student learning. Participants of this workshop learned to produce content and give professional development training to teachers in rural areas. Read more about our project in Ethiopia —>

These are just two among the many literacy-focused projects illuminAid has implemented over the past 12 years. Check out our projects in India and Nepal as well as the rest of our projects on Education.