INVESTMENT IN LITERACY AND EDUCATION CAN YIELD BEST OF ALL RETURNS, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS IN INTERNATIONAL DAY MESSAGE
Press Release
SG/SM/6691
OBV/55
INVESTMENT IN LITERACY AND EDUCATION CAN YIELD BEST OF ALL RETURNS, SECRETARY-GENERAL SAYS IN INTERNATIONAL DAY MESSAGE
19980904 Despite Recent Gains, Twin Goals of Universal Literacy and Equal Access to Education Remain UnmetFollowing is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's message on the occasion of International Literacy Day, 8 September:
Every year, on 8 September, we observe International Literacy Day in recognition of literacy's centrality in the global quest for peace and development. Recent years have seen significant gains in literacy rates, school enrolment and spending on education. Yet, the twin goals of universal literacy and equal access to education remain unmet. More than 960 million adults, two thirds of whom are women, are illiterate. Some 130 million children in developing countries, two thirds of them girls, do not attend primary school.
In a fast-changing world, in rich and poor countries alike, literacy demands continue to grow. Simple definitions of what it means to be literate have become more complex. Being literate is not only a question of whether someone can read a word or a few sentences of text, but rather what that person can do with those words in everyday life. Can parents read to their children? Can people understand a bus or plane schedule, or use an automated teller machine? And as the revolution in information and communications technologies advances, our understanding of literacy must also encompass computer literacy -- using a computer, interacting with others through e-mail, using the Internet for research. Already, we can see the emergence of literacy "haves" and "have-nots".
Indeed, literacy is a moving target. But certain constants will continue to guide the work of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the rest of the United Nations system. Our touchstone will remain article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which declares that "everyone has the right to education". And we will continue to place special emphasis on women and girls. Let us remember that investments in literacy and education are investments in health, in the environment, in labour, in the development of human resources. Such investments can yield the best of all returns: rewarding, prosperous lives for all the world's people.
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