Global Literacy Matters

Today is World Refugee Day. UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) commemorates the strength and resilience of the more than 45 million people around the world who have been forced to flee their homes due to war, persecution, or natural disaster. Multiple emergencies have forced record numbers of people to flee—yet  the vast majority of media coverage given to the conflicts in Syria, Mali, South Sudan, and Democratic Republic of Congo, rarely focuses on the human cost. In celebration of World Refugee Day, UNCHR has launched a campaign called the “1 family” campaign to remind the world that the victims of war are mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters and that even  1 family torn apart by war is too many. As part of this campaign supporters are encouraged to take a picture of one thing they would take if forced to flee their home. Share a picture and see what items people cherish all over the world on the UNCHR campaign pinterest page. ProLiteracy has supported refugees for man...

The African Union recently declared 2010-2020 African Women’s Decade. A recent article on Aljazeera featured an interview by South2North with two powerful women in Africa who are bringing change to their countries. Globally women make up about half the world’s population and yet they rarely come close to holding leadership positions of power in government. In the US, only six out of 50 states have a female governor. In Africa, there are only two female presidents, out of 54 African Union member states. But women like Joyce Banda and Dr. Mamphela Ramphele are overcoming social and cultural obstacles and are showing the world that there are opportunities for women in the political arena in Africa today. President Joyce Banda of Malawi used to sell vegetables in the markets. Today, she is the first Southern African woman to lead a country. Time magazine has also named her one of the world’s most influential leaders. President Banda openly talks about overcoming abuse in her...

An article in The Times of India titled, “Unesco study: Number of out of school children stagnate; aid to basic education falls by six percent” by Manash Pratim Gohain, describes the current funding problems in basic education. UNESCO just released a study showing that 57 million children were not enrolled in school in 2011. In addition to this statistic, a report found that basic education funding declined by 6% overall between 2010 and 2011. A country exemplifying the linkage between basic education funding and school enrollment rates is India. “India receives the largest share of aid to basic education of any country in the world (10%),” says Gohain. Between 2000 and 2006, India reduced out of school numbers from 20 million to 2.3 million. Gohain also found that “Children from poor households are three times more likely to be out of school than children from rich households. ”In sub-Saharan Africa, where aid to education decreased by 8%, more than one out of every three child...