National Literacy Day

On September 8th of every year, the world stands together to acknowledge International Literacy Day.  Established on November 17, 1965 by the United National Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, International Literacy Day aims to draw attention to the staggering rate of illiteracy in the world.  This year the focus is on the link between literacy and peace.  Multiple organizations have been committed to supporting this cause, including the International Reading Association, UNESCO, and BetterWorldBooksblog.

The International Reading Association held a program in Washington D.C. with the theme "Teachers Matter! Effective Teaching: What does it take?"  They also teamed up with the Rotary International in 2002 in order to more effectively fight illiteracy.  Each year at their event, they present two separate $2,500 awards to joint International Reading Association and Rotary International literacy projects.  The two honorees will also identify two organizations to receive a library of books valued at $1,000.  

UNESCO, the founder and chief promoter of International Literacy Day awarded programs in Mexico, the United States of America, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  These countries showed extreme accomplishment and ingenuity in improving illiteracy in their populations.  Each of these countries was given a medal, a diploma, and $20,000 in U.S. currency for their abilities to show how literacy influences gender equality, conflict resolution, cultural diversity, and human rights.  

BetterWorldBooksblog is on online site with book reviews, author interviews, and of course an extensive used bookstore they put together every year.  In honor of International Literacy Day, every year they offer a discount on three or more books from their collection.  In order for them to support literacy projects across the world, for every book purchased online the BetterWorldBooksblog will provide a book to someone in need and will donate to organizations like Room to Read, Invisible Children, the National Center for Family Literacy, Worldfund, and Books for Africa.  

These organizations along with countless others dedicated their efforts to raising awareness of this noble cause.  Their accomplishments in conjunction with the programs established by governments around the world will help to end this plague on society.