Recognition, History and the Unfinished Fight for a Fully Literate World

By Shyla Gheek / GICJ

The annual celebrations of the International Day of Literacy (ILD) have taken place on the 8th of September since 1967. Proclaimed by UNESCO at the 14th session of the General Conference in 1966, this year marks the 60th anniversary of celebrating literacy for people, the planet and prosperity. A day dedicated to reminding governments, educators and the public that literacy remains one of the most powerful, and most unevenly distributed, tools for human development.

The day is a reminder to policy-makers, practitioners and the public about the importance of literacy, and creating a more just, literate, peaceful and sustainable society. The celebration was established to provide a dedicated moment each year with clear objectives:

• Recognition: To affirm literacy as a fundamental human right and a foundation for lifelong learning.
• Justice: To highlight the hundreds of millions of youth and adults still denied basic reading, writing and numeracy skills.
• Development: To mobilise governments, civil society and partners around effective policies that close the literacy gap.

The global celebration will be convened by UNESCO on 8-9 September 2026 in Mexico, in collaboration with the Government of Mexico. It includes the award ceremony of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes, which recognise outstanding literacy programmes from around the world. The celebrations are a moment to acknowledge the persistent gap between the international recognition of literacy as a human right and the reality of hundreds of millions of people who are still excluded from it, and to ask what more must be done to close that gap.

Why Literacy Matters

This days ask us to question what the world would look like if every person in the world could read, write and fully participate in society. Literacy is a fundamental human right for all as it opens the door to enjoy all other human rights, freedom and global citizenship. For society to grow with fairness, literacy is the foundation on which people build broader knowledge, skills, values and behaviours. 

Literacy is also inseparable from dignity and opportunity. People who can read and write are better placed to access employment, healthcare information, civic participation and protection of their own rights. Conversely, the absence of literacy skills tends to compound other forms of disadvantage, poverty, gender inequality, displacement and social exclusion, making it harder to escape them.

According to UNESCO, at least 739 million youth and adults worldwide still lack basic literacy skills as of 2024. At the same time, 4 in 10 children are not reaching minimum proficiency in reading, and 272 million children and adolescents were out of school in 2023. These are not abstract statistics; they represent hundreds of millions of individual lives in which doors to opportunity remain closed.  

How International Literacy Day Came About

The origins of International Literacy Day trace back to the World Conference of Ministers of Education on the Eradication of Illiteracy, held in Tehran, Iran, in 1965. Building on that momentum, UNESCO's General Conference formally proclaimed 8 September as International Literacy Day in 1966, and the first celebrations took place the following year. 

Literacy for People, the Planet and Prosperity

Each year, International Literacy Day has adopted a theme that reflects the pressing concerns of its time. In 2025, the theme was "Promoting literacy in the digital era," recognising that reading and writing alone are no longer sufficient in a world reshaped by digital technology. The theme reflects the importance and relevance of digital knowledge in the 21st century. The moving pace of new technologies needs to be met with new literary tools to help individuals enter the new forms of civic life. 

This year’s theme is “Literacy for people, the planet and prosperity,” which offers an opportunity to take stock of six decades of progress, especially since 2015, while identifying the challenges, old and new, that still stand in the way of universal literacy. 

A Moment to Reflect, and to Act

International Literacy Day is not just any day, it is a moment of commemoration and a moment of accountability. 60 years after UNESCO first proclaimed the day, the task to ensure literacy strategies throughout the world persists. There are many ways to mark International Literacy Day at an individual level: 

• Support or volunteer with local literacy programs or teaching initiatives in your own community.
• Advocate for stronger investments in teacher training and literacy activities. 
• Push for digital literacy to be integrated into school curricula. 
• Amplify the voices of communities where illiteracy remains highest such as conflict-affected and low-income regions.

Position of Geneva International Centre for Justice (GICJ)

As the world commemorates International Literacy Day, GICJ welcomes all efforts undertaken by UNESCO to advocate for literacy as a fundamental human right. GICJ is concerned with people in areas of conflict, particularly in the Middle East who are lacking basic right to education and literacy skills. Progress that leaves this many people behind cannot be considered sufficient. GICJ calls on all States to treat literacy not as a technical education target but as a human rights obligation. 

GICJ's Call to Action:

• Support or volunteer with local literacy programmes and initiatives in your community 
• Amplify the voices and needs of communities where illiteracy remains highest.
• Hold governments accountable to their commitments under the UNESCO Global Alliance for Literacy and related international frameworks.

International Literacy Day is observed on 8 September. The 2026 global celebration and UNESCO International Literacy Prizes award ceremony will be held on 8–9 September in Mexico, in collaboration with the Government of Mexico.