Global Literacy Matters

Women celebrating from Sudanese NGO, My Sister's Keeper In July 2011, South Sudan will become an independent nation, Africa’s 55th country, and the world’s youngest state. After two decades of civil war and high poverty levels, the new country will face many challenges. Literacy and education will play a vital role in charting a new course for South Sudan. A recent policy paper published by UNESCO discusses how education will be a first step toward the construction of peace and a better future for the people of South Sudan.The policy paper reveals that women face some of the most imminent challenges in terms of access to education. Today, only around 8 percent of women in South Sudan are literate, possibly the lowest female literacy rate in the world. Young girls in South Sudan face extreme disadvantages in education. Girls are less likely to enter school and more likely to drop out early. Today, a young girl in South Sudan is three times more likely to die in pregnancy or ch...

ProLiteracy’s 80 years of global experience have caused us to recognize the tragic reality that adult literacy, a crucial element of the development and poverty reduction process, is often missing from key international policy discussions. In the past few weeks, the adult literacy topic has been highlighted among top government and international organizations in three critical areas. Educating Girls Today, 796 million adults worldwide lack basic literacy skills; two-thirds of that population are women. UNESCO recently announced a joint project with the United States Department of State, targeting education rates among women. The program , “Better Lives, Better Future” will help stem dropout rates of adolescent girls as they transition from primary to secondary education. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton hopes that this new focus will help policy makers effectively target education investments. “When we educate a young girl, we are shaping our world for a better tomorrow...

The following post was written by Dr. Lynn Curtis, Senior Advisor at ProLiteracy, as he was visiting ProLiteracy’s partner, Tú Mujer in the Dominican Republic. ProLiteracy has been partnering with Tú Mujer for more than 10 years, and supports their literacy and micro enterprise projects with funds from Citi Foundation. The workshop with Tú Mujer turned out to be a celebration! So much energy, enthusiasm, and appreciation for our literacy-based business training, and their historic connection with ProLiteracy . Tú Mujer leaders spoke repeatedly and glowingly of their 10+year association with ProLiteracy. In spite of a torrential rainstorm, we had 35 attendees attend the workshop - a mix of facilitators, participants, and group leaders - all active women from the various barrios and villages served by Tú Mujer. Their program integrates micro finance, literacy, health, and community action in a number of neighborhoods of Santo Domingo. This was the kind of focused group that a workshop...