781 million people in this world are illiterate.
Who would you be, if you could not read?
Nearly 800 million people on the planet cannot read or write.
523 million (or 2/3) of those are women.
5.1 million adults are from the United Kingdom.
Most people would agree; you can’t change your life if you can’t read.
At first this may seem like a narrow mind-set, for there are self professed illiterate millionaires who have made empires. But these exceptions to the rule have come from a different time. Today, when you consider each occasion that you’ve had to fill out a form, make an online payment, receive instructions, google search, approach a street sign, go shopping, sit in a work presentation, pick up a newspaper, read a book, scroll your facebook feed or send a text (the list goes on), it is a statement that in 2017 is only one thing; true. Words are everywhere.
If you can read, you are privileged.
If you are a female who can read, you are one very lucky lady.
What impact can an educated world have on progress and development?
According to UNESCO, education can completely transform lives and is fundamental to building peace, eliminating poverty and driving sustainable growth. High literacy rates in society have many proven advantages toward positive long-term progress. A more educated world can:
Fight poverty – Low income directly relates to low levels of education.
Create jobs – new skills & abilities learned = new markets + opportunities.
Boost business – promoting entrepreneurship & business management.
Improve health & nutrition – allowing people to be better informed.
Promote gender equality – 75 million children are not in school, 66 million are girls.
Influence peace & democracy – results in fairer, more accountable governments.
Reduce crime & violence – lower rate of unemployment will lower crime rates.
Implement innovation & technology – a greater aptitude for knowledge means more efficient methods that better drive change, can be introduced into local communities.
How do we begin to consider the issues and challenges of educating our world and what is being done to bring better, more accessible education to people in need?
Addressing the challenges can be complex. Some of the causes for the huge number of illiterate people include having illiterate parents, lack of quality trained teachers, denial + shame of learning difficulties, lack of employment opportunities for the educated (trade dominant societies), lack of awareness, cultural beliefs and affordability.
Innovative solutions can play a significant role in starting to help bridge some of these gaps and connect people with opportunities + information in a way that can improve their lives. While there are many hurdles to overcome in the fight to provide a quality education to every single person on earth, through technology we are seeing more and more interesting ideas evolve that do a great job of addressing what were once problems too difficult to solve.
Speaking Books' health care education for low literacy communities in Sub Saharan Africa.
One example of this began in 2005. Zane Wilson founded Speaking Books as an affordable and simple solution to reach illiterate communities throughout Africa and provide critical, life saving health messages. The books are just as the name suggests; books that speak to you. The format is customisable for different topics, issues or themes and the book talks to people in their local language often by a recognisable celebrity via buttons that deliver each message. This simple way of communicating vital information results in impactful, interactive and beneficial educational messages.
Speaking Books now provide information to 30 countries in 35 languages, covering 65 topics and have released over 500,000 books worldwide. Some of their clients include, World Vision, Johnson & Johnson, Sesame Street, UNICEF, UNESCO and The World Bank. Each book is extremely cost effective, reaching 120+ people as a leave behind tool for sharing information with a community.
Another idea that has emerged to address the quality and price of education received is from Worldreader. The organisation is on a mission to create a literate world. Initially they developed low-cost highly durable e-readers with an extra long battery life designed for rural communities with low access to electricity. These devices store up to 43,000 book titles in 43 languages across 55 countries. They now also have an open library app for mobile + smart phones, having recognised that many people even in the midst of poverty have access to a cellular network.
Worldreader also have a new pilot program called Read to Kids which promotes reading to children amongst parents and caregivers in Delhi, India. A report produced NGO Pratham, highlights the fact that:
"In India more than half of grade five students can only read at grade two level."
Sadly, similar comparison statistics are available across the globe. This program encourages pre-literacy skills by encouraging parents to read to, and with, their young children (age 0-6) and by empowering them to do so by giving them access to a free digital library of high quality, locally relevant books and educational materials via their mobile phones.
In this age of information and technology, when our poorest communities do not have access to even the base level of education, they inevitably only fall deeper into the poverty cycle.
The positive flow on effects of an educated society are immense. An ability to read and write is the absolute foundation of learning and the acquisition of knowledge. It is only once these base skills are met, that a person (or a society) can develop and progress.
This is why education is a human right, without it we are vulnerable and our opportunities are limited. It is a means of empowerment and an avenue for social development. Today more than ever, people depend on and thrive with communication. While there are many hurdles to overcome in the fight to provide a quality education to every single person on earth, through technology we are seeing more and more interesting ideas evolve that are making a huge leap, in addressing what were once problems too big to tackle.
This year, Friday 8th September marks the 50th anniversary of UNESCO International Literacy Day. Let us, who are lucky enough to not even realise our privilege, do our part for local communities and share the knowledge we have gained with those less fortunate.
If you have any books you would like to donate please consider how you can Give Now (Australians only) or alternatively you may wish to help fund Worldreader.
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