There is a simple truth: The right to read is a
basic, fundamental human right. And yet in 2017,
according to UNESCO, 750 million people around
the world lacked basic literacy skills. Two thirds of
these are female. One hundred million children
around the world do not complete elementary
school and so do not learn to read and write.
In the 21st century, we have not reached
education for all. We have not reached literacy
for all.
At the core of the mission of the International
Literacy Association (ILA) lies a belief that literacy
transforms people’s lives—by allowing them to
develop their potential, earn their livelihoods,
participate fully in their communities and society,
and enjoy the fullness that great literature and
continuous learning brings.
In 2018, the Board of Directors of ILA convened
a global task force charged with reviewing existing
literature pertaining to a child’s rights to read
with the goal of developing a global campaign to
ensure that every child receives these fundamental
rights. Our work yielded 10 rights that ILA believes
every child deserves.
The release of Children’s Rights to Read marks
the first part of a yearlong campaign focused
on ensuring that all young people, regardless of
geographic location, socioeconomic status, and
circumstance, are granted the right not only to
read but also to literacy.
As educators, we are responsible for delivering
on the promise of these rights. It is our duty to
enact them in our classrooms with every child and
to work proactively with others to ensure they are
realized in homes, communities, and government
policy.
I encourage you to consider what part you
play in these efforts. What are you doing? What
could you be doing? What will you change moving
forward?
The Right to Read
ILA UPDATE
This issue of Literacy Today has a special
focus on the Children’s Rights to Read campaign.
For someone who cannot read, these rights are
marks on a page or pixels on a screen. These
rights are just words on a poster unless we choose
to implement them in our classrooms, schools,
libraries, communities, and homes and to advocate
for them with politicians and policymakers.
UNESCO tells us that change is imperative for
a better society—for a better future. That change
starts with our children and with those of us to
whom their education is entrusted.
So please join us on our yearlong campaign
to enact these rights. Advocate for them with us.
In countries around the world, we see so many
examples of change beginning from the ground
up with ordinary people, quiet revolutions started
by ordinary people as changemakers. Be one of
them.
Bernadette Dwyer
ILA President of the Board
To read the 10 Children’s Rights to Read, visit
literacyworldwide.org/rightstoread. More information
can also be found on page 8.
READ MORE
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literacyworldwide.org | September/October 2018 | LITERACY TODAY