Each 8 September since 1965 has been International Literacy Day, a day designed to bring awareness to the vital importance of literacy to both individuals and societies. It is also a time to put a focus on the plight of illiteracy in many countries of the world.
Over 750 million adults in today’s world are illiterate, and that amounts to about 20 percent of the world’s adult population. But this plight of illiteracy is not even close to evenly distributed. Two-thirds of that number are women, and regions where poverty and discrimination against women abound have the lowest national literacy rates.
International Literacy Day is a time for showing concern for improving world literacy. It is a time for literacy fundraising campaigns and special media awareness campaigns on the subject of literacy.