World Literacy Day is dedicated to all the children of the world, raising awareness that all children have a right to basic education and literacy in order to develop their gifts fully for the common good.   The goal is that primary and secondary education is accessible to all children, regardless of religion, economic status, or gender. UNESCO established International Literacy Day in 1967 as a way for communities all around the globe to raise awareness of literacy as the foundation for justice, peace, and sustainability in the world.

International Literacy Day is observed on September 8 every year. The International Literacy Day theme for 2024 is Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for multilingual understanding and peace. There is a pressing need to harness the transformative potential of literacy for promoting mutual understanding, social cohesion, and peace. In today’s world, in which multilingualism is a common practice for many, empowering people by adopting a first language-based, multilingual approach to literacy development and education is particularly effective for its cognitive, pedagogical, and socio-economic benefits. Such an approach can help promote mutual understanding and respect, while solidifying communal identities and collective histories. It is also critical to the development of sustainable, just and creative societies of the future.  The greatest resource of any nation is its children.  Educating each child so that she/he can contribute as fully and creatively as possible to the world is critical for all of us.

We praise you, God, for the great diversity of people around the world.  Inspire each of us to become involved in literacy and education in some way so that all people have an opportunity to reach their full potential and build up the common good of their communities and the world.  As communication across cultures and nations becomes more and more available, bless our children with access to literacy and education so that we can share one another’s stories. Thus, we will build relationships that will make respect, understanding, justice and peace possible.