Literacy has moved from being a rare concept to being one of great importance in every society. A major factor would be attributed to the positive relationship between literacy and development in a society. Literacy contributes to the skill development of individuals. This in turn results in the development of other sectors of the society.
Our attention, however, will be drawn to the role of literacy in achieving global peace. The International Literacy Day 2023 themed Promoting Literacy for a World in Transition: Building the Foundation for Sustainable and Peaceful Societies helps bring this to perspective. According to UNESCO, literacy is a major part of the larger SDG 5 pillars, People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership. Seeing as the SDGs including quality education aim to enhance these, more emphasis should be placed on the concept of literacy, especially to include low- and middle-income countries like Nigeria. The more literate a nation is, the more peaceful it will be; as literacy promotes other concepts like civic rights, human rights, etc.
Literacy rate in Nigeria has increased to reach 77.62 % as at 2021. However, this increase does not reflect in rural and marginalized societies in the country. Governments focus on the kids already in school, and neglect those who are not or who cannot afford to. This neglect is further extended to the adults in villages who can barely read or write. With lifelong learning being essential, and the world transitioning into digitization, such neglect cannot only be overlooked but cannot also be continued. It is worthy to note that continuous neglect will result in a generation particular about self-survival rather than nation development including peace.
This is why The Sapphires Development Initiative adopts means to deliver awareness and quality education to teenagers, children, teenage mothers, schoolgirls in rural and marginalized areas with its primary goal to impact as many lives as possible. Much emphasis is also placed on digital literacy and lifelong learning. Education truly is the bedrock of any society, and a society will only exist when its peaceful.
To this end, there will be a 1-day workshop on digital skills like graphics design, video editing, etc., hosted by EQUIVERSE, a committee under TSDI particular about gender equality on the 20th of September 2023. There would also be a continuation of the STEMposium SERIES; this time done in Okua village, Osun State on the 26th of September 2023. We ask that all stakeholders recognize the need to invest in the education of children and youth in Nigerian society in digital literacy without ignoring certain regions of the nation just as we have.
HAPPY INTERNATIONAL LITERACY DAY!
