ProLiteracy and the Millennium Development Goals
“When mothers and daughters have access to opportunity, that’s when economies grow, that’s when governance improves.” – President Barack Obama, Remarks by the President at the Millennium Development Goals Summit.
President
Obama’s recent speech on the Millennium Development Goals reinforces the importance of the work ProLiteracy has been doing around the world for decades. The MDG’s are a range of eight international development goals established by world leaders at the UN on September 2000 to significantly reduce extreme poverty by 2015.
ProLiteracy is working in 50 countries around Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East to bring literacy and education to adults at the local level. In conjunction with the Millennium Development Goals Summit, we laud President Obama’s dedication toward reshaping how the United States approaches international development and his commitment to investing in the health, education, and rights of women to empower the next generation of female entrepreneurs and leaders.
ProLiteracy’s international program focuses on reducing poverty and improving living standards for adult learners through literacy and action projects. Recognizing the correlation between the fact that both the vast majority of people living in poverty and the vast majority of people who cannot read or write are women, our Women in Literacy program is a unique approach to helping women improve their lives by gaining crucial literacy skills. ProLiteracy’s concept of literacy extends beyond basic reading and writing skills, and today is also defined by the ability to access information and use technology.
While President Obama notes that the “doors of education have been opened to tens of millions of children, boys, and girls” – many of their family members - mothers, fathers, relatives, and neighbors are still living in the fog of illiteracy. People who already were marginalized by their inability to access basic education are still living far away from the resources of the 21st century; resources that often contain the potential to help people bring themselves out of poverty.
According to UNESCO, 799 million adults cannot read, about two-thirds of them are women. In every country of the world, women have less access than men to education and economic resources and face overt and subtle discrimination in the workplace, home, and society at large. Yet despite these inequalities, women bear a disproportionately heavy burden for the health and welfare of their families, maintenance of their homes, and generation of household income. They also are most profoundly affected by environmental degradation and domestic and social violence.
As we reflect on the progress the world is making toward achieving the millennium development goals by 2015, ProLiteracy would like to renew our strong commitment to investing in programs that work to create social change, helping the most vulnerable populations be involved in their own development and sustainable growth.
President
Obama’s recent speech on the Millennium Development Goals reinforces the importance of the work ProLiteracy has been doing around the world for decades. The MDG’s are a range of eight international development goals established by world leaders at the UN on September 2000 to significantly reduce extreme poverty by 2015.ProLiteracy is working in 50 countries around Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East to bring literacy and education to adults at the local level. In conjunction with the Millennium Development Goals Summit, we laud President Obama’s dedication toward reshaping how the United States approaches international development and his commitment to investing in the health, education, and rights of women to empower the next generation of female entrepreneurs and leaders.
ProLiteracy’s international program focuses on reducing poverty and improving living standards for adult learners through literacy and action projects. Recognizing the correlation between the fact that both the vast majority of people living in poverty and the vast majority of people who cannot read or write are women, our Women in Literacy program is a unique approach to helping women improve their lives by gaining crucial literacy skills. ProLiteracy’s concept of literacy extends beyond basic reading and writing skills, and today is also defined by the ability to access information and use technology.
While President Obama notes that the “doors of education have been opened to tens of millions of children, boys, and girls” – many of their family members - mothers, fathers, relatives, and neighbors are still living in the fog of illiteracy. People who already were marginalized by their inability to access basic education are still living far away from the resources of the 21st century; resources that often contain the potential to help people bring themselves out of poverty.
According to UNESCO, 799 million adults cannot read, about two-thirds of them are women. In every country of the world, women have less access than men to education and economic resources and face overt and subtle discrimination in the workplace, home, and society at large. Yet despite these inequalities, women bear a disproportionately heavy burden for the health and welfare of their families, maintenance of their homes, and generation of household income. They also are most profoundly affected by environmental degradation and domestic and social violence.
As we reflect on the progress the world is making toward achieving the millennium development goals by 2015, ProLiteracy would like to renew our strong commitment to investing in programs that work to create social change, helping the most vulnerable populations be involved in their own development and sustainable growth.
UNESCO's report of 799 million adults who cannot read is "staggering". Literarcy is vital to the success and growth of society. Even more alarming is that women face even higher challenges. As a whole they have always fallen short in terms of salary, careers, etc., however with many women claiming themselves as single family head of households it is vital that they be given the proper resources to thrive. Kudos to Proliterary in their efforts of creating social change globally.
ReplyDeleteWithin the context of a high-tech global society, there must be a way to address these humanitarian crises at the root cause.
ReplyDeleteKris
The human cost of illiteracy cannot be over-stated. It perpetuates the powerlessness of the underclasses and marginalizes those whose lives are most impacted by the policies of those in power. It becomes a self-perpetuating cycle of poverty, abuse, and violence. Unfortunately, education can be seen as threatening or upsetting to the status quo. Those in power are loathe to cede any of the decision or policy making.
ReplyDelete