Personal freedom, mutual understanding with the outside world, independence, development of one's own potential, conflict resolution. All this gives literacy. She even has her own day on the calendar. On September 8, the whole world celebrates Literacy day.

The history of the holiday

There are over 700 million adult illiterate people in the world, and over 72 million children. Most common illiteracy problem in countries in which there are wars, civil unrest, and in the countries of the "third world". This became the preconditions for the emergence of the International Literacy Day, designed to draw public attention to this problem.

World Conference of Ministers of Education, the theme of which was "Eradication of Illiteracy", opened and took place September 8, 1965 in the capital of Iran, the largest city of Tehran. At the suggestion of this conference, UNESCO in the next year, 1966, proclaimed International Literacy Day ( International Literacy Day)- 8 September.

The United Nations has designated 2003-2013 as the “Decade of Literacy” and UNESCO has been designated as the coordinator of all activities.

The main objectives of the Decade were declared: to significantly increase literacy rates, ensure accessible and universal primary education and promote equality between women and men in education.

Every year on this day, international conferences are held at various different topics(Literacy Drives Development (2006), Literacy and Health (2007), etc.).

AND Literacy day begins to acquire its own customs.

Literacy Day Traditions

On September 8, Olympiads, open lessons, quizzes, contests in the Russian language are held in schools in Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the purpose of which is to highlight the diligent
and diligent students.

Lectures on the problem of human illiteracy are read. Conferences and meetings of teachers are organized, and outstanding teachers are awarded.

Literacy classes are organized in libraries on this day, special books are selected to improve the quality of literacy.

In Russia, activists distribute leaflets describing the basic rules of the Russian language. Librarians organize actions right on the streets, distribute books and magazines to people at bus stops and just passers-by. Before entering the library, entertaining grammar lessons are held.

Interesting facts about literacy

1. Globally, only 19 countries have a higher literacy rate among women than men. And of 143 countries in 41 countries, a woman is twice as likely to be illiterate than a man.

2. Illiteracy flourishes not only in the poor, but also, as indicated by the UNESCO organization, in richer countries such as Egypt, Brazil, China.

3. In 15 countries of the world, more than 50% of children do not even have a basic general education.

4. The All-Russian Population Census showed that in Russia in 2010, 91% of Russians have secondary school and higher education.

You should never forget about your own literacy, you always need to improve it.

Literacy is a kind of “face” of a person. Literate people are always valued in society. To be literate is to be prestigious.

Russian is considered the most difficult language in the world after Chinese in terms of learning. For us - Russians - this is wild, but for foreigners it is quite close and understandable. And pronunciation, and dialects, and the abundance of diminutive words, synonyms, homonyms, and, finally, grammar - everything is given to most of the foreigners who study the "great and mighty", with great difficulty. However, if illiteracy is forgivable to them, then this fact shames us. However, such a phenomenon takes place regardless of the language in which a person speaks. International Literacy Day aims to eliminate the pernicious disease that arises as a consequence of the unwillingness to learn and master the native or necessary speech.

Holiday history International Literacy Day

International Literacy Day is celebrated annually on 8 September. This holiday founded by UNESCO a little less than half a century ago - in 1966. This event was prompted by the recommendation of the World Conference of Ministers of Education on the Eradication of Illiteracy. The event took place in Tehran a year earlier, in the fall.

It is known that there are still many illiterate people in the world who cannot really write or read, despite clear progress in all spheres of life, especially in the field of information. Indeed, in addition to advanced Europe and America, there is also Africa, Asia, where there are many peoples who have no idea how important it is to master the skills of writing, moreover, to be able to correctly apply them in practice.

Statistics confirm the above. Indeed, more than 15% of the world's population is currently illiterate. It is unlikely that you will be surprised to learn that 2/3 of this indicator falls on the female sex. Almost 40% of illiterate adults live in India, 1/5 in African states. However, even in highly developed countries, there are still people who do not fully possess the skills of writing and reading. This is every fifth person or 160 million inhabitants. In the EU member states, 75 million people are illiterate. As far as the children's generation is concerned, more than a hundred million children on the planet do not attend school.

Of course, the situation in the middle of the 20th century was much worse. Thus, UNESCO pursued the establishment of the International Literacy Day the most important goal: to unite and intensify the efforts of the world community in the process of the widespread dissemination of literacy and the implementation of educational programs.

2002 was a very important year for those who created International Literacy Day and worked hard to make it flourish. The UN General Assembly has announced the United Nations Literacy Decade. A year later, she also approved the "UN Action Plan for the Literacy Decade", entrusting UNESCO with the "position" of the coordinator, obliged to carry out specific activities within the framework of this event.

Every year, International Literacy Day is held under a specific motto. So, in 2006 the theme of the holiday sounded like "Literacy ensures sustainable development", in 2007 - "Literacy and health", and 4 years ago the slogan of the date was the thesis "The meaning of literacy for women." Last year, 2013, International Literacy Day events were organized under the theme “Literacy in the 21st Century”.

Many symposia, awards ceremonies, colloquia and workshops are held on International Literacy Day. The prizes are awarded for certain achievements in the field of activities related to the elimination of illiteracy. For example, there is the King Sejong Prize, which is awarded to individuals who have achieved concrete results in the process of spreading literacy around the globe. Another award, the Confucius Prize, finds its heroes in the field of literacy in countryside as well as among the female population.

What are UNESCO's plans for further actions in the field of educational programs? The main task facing the staff of the peacekeeping organization is the following: to achieve by 2015 the number of illiterate adults in half, with special emphasis on the female half. In other words, it is planned to implement the Education for All strategy.

Literacy concept

From school, we are taught that it is necessary to be able to fluently and correctly read and write without mistakes. In other words, they teach them to be literate. After all, many doors in life are open to a literate person. But literacy is not only about certain skills in writing, reading, correct speech and skillfully constructed sentences. Literacy is also the engine of progress (meaning personal and spiritual development). A literate person feels he is at his best, intelligent, competent and feels that he can handle a lot. Thanks to literacy, the subject is able to reveal inherent potential, develop natural inclinations, abilities and talents, and at the same time demonstrate them to the public.

The literacy level of a person at a certain stage of life serves as a criterion by which it is possible to determine whether further education and development of an individual is likely or not. You might argue that today "money is everything." Indeed, many incompetent employees are now flooding firms of various types of work. And this is very bad - the quality of the goods and services produced, the process of contacting the manufacturer and the distributor suffers. The seller and the consumer. Based on all of the above, we can conclude that literacy is a right and, at the same time, a duty of each of us, as well as an instrument for the cultural and civilized development of society.

Reasons for illiteracy

International Literacy Day is a great occasion to reflect on the causes of illiteracy.

Why does a child grow up illiterate, despite the fact that his parents regularly study with him, and he goes to school, and is naturally given an intelligent head? If we turn to specialists with such a question, namely psychologists and sociologists, we will receive the following answers:

• Lack of love for reading. As a result, there is no habit of picking up an interesting book every day and plunging into a fictional, such an attractive world. Today, few people read, and those who do not ignore this process choose the wrong thing to read.
• Internet communication is a rather influential factor. Netizens have long developed their own virtual slang. In addition, frequent abbreviations and misspellings are unwittingly duplicated in standard written language.

• Training preparation. Unfortunately, in schools and universities today she is lame. This is because the competence of teachers often leaves much to be desired. And many teachers are too lazy to fully fulfill their duties.
• The laziness of the student himself. It is also an important factor in the development of illiteracy in a person. Why read a book when you can play an exciting computer game or play a ball in the yard with your friends?

Each of us must stand up for literacy - at least for our own and those of our loved ones. Otherwise, the reverse development of personality will occur, and Darwin's theory will be realized in practice, only in reverse side…

(International Literacy Day). It was first held in 1966 at the initiative of the World Conference of Ministers of Education on the Elimination of Illiteracy, held in Tehran, Iran in September 1965, and was timed to coincide with the inauguration of this conference.

Literacy is one of the basic elements necessary for sustainable development, it helps people make the right decisions about economic growth, social development and environmental integration. Literacy is the foundation of lifelong learning and plays a fundamental role in building sustainable, peaceful and prosperous societies.

Education is central to the concept of sustainable development and is part of one of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of UNESCO.

It is about ensuring comprehensive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. The target is that by 2030 all young people and a significant proportion of adults, both men and women, will have mastered reading and numeracy skills.

According to UNESCO, despite the rise in literacy rates over the past 50 years, there are still 750 million illiterate adults around the world and 250 million children are unable to acquire basic skills.

Adult literacy rates have improved since 2000, reaching 85.3% globally, but sub-Saharan Africa and South and West Asia continue to have the lowest rates.

Literacy among young people aged 15-24 is now due to accessibility school education reached 90.6%.

Women make up two thirds of all illiterate adults - 63%, young women make up 59% of illiterate youth.

In 2017, International Literacy Day will be dedicated to the theme "Digital Literacy".

In record time, digital technology is revolutionizing people's lives, how they work, learn and communicate. They give people new opportunities to improve all areas of their lives, including access to information, social security.

On September 8, 2017, the International Conference "Digital Literacy" will be held at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris.

Today, International Literacy Day is celebrated all over the world. The celebration is attended by governments, multilateral, bilateral and non-governmental organizations, professional communities, educators, students and experts in the field.

Each year, UNESCO awards five literacy prizes: three The UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy for literacy, established in 2005 with the support of the PRC government, and two The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize for literacy. literacy, established in 1989 with the support of the South Korean government.

In 2016, the UNESCO King Sejong Prize for Literacy was awarded to the Center for Information Assistance and Community Development for the Vietnamese Rural Books program and the Asian Languages ​​and Cultures Research Institute of Mahidol University (Thailand) for a project on bilingual / multilingual education Patani Malay-Thai.

The civilized world fights for the equality and well-being of people, the purity of nature, the preservation of all the diversity of the animal and plant world of the Earth. In order to draw public attention to the difficulties, special world holidays... They are initiated by the UN, international associations, organizations and institutions. The article will tell you what is International Literacy Day.

Literacy concept

The word "literacy" has Greek roots and literally means "reading and writing". The dictionary defines a person's literacy as the ability to write without mistakes, read fluently and correctly express one's thoughts in conversation. All these skills allow one to acquire new knowledge, improve, and benefit society.

The urgency of the problem

Why is International Literacy Day needed? States fighting the ignorance of their own citizens are implementing training programs everywhere. People themselves understand how important education is, because it helps to find a place in life, therefore they independently master the sciences.

Nevertheless, today there are more than seven hundred million illiterate and completely illiterate people in the world. There are also those who have never seen a book. Among them there are more than seventy million children. This problem is especially urgent in third world countries with a low level of economic development, where there are wars and civil unrest.

If Europe, the Russian Federation, the United States do not have this problem, then in Africa, some countries of Asia, Latin America, most of the population is completely illiterate, even universal access to primary education is not provided here, there is gender discrimination when girls and women are excluded from learning.

All this served as a precondition for literacy to be instituted.

Brief history of the holiday

On September 8, 1965, the World Conference was held in Tehran, which brought together ministers of education from all over the world. The topic of the conference was the elimination of illiteracy in the world, the increase in the total level of education. Methods and measures to achieve the set goals were discussed. Some of the most important are those that are focused on children and youth. Recommended to have International Literacy Day in schools - in elementary and high school. The child must learn that it is useful and prestigious to be literate, that science opens the door to a bright future, there is an incentive to master new knowledge.

The day of the conference - September 8 - was approved as the World Day for the Eradication of Illiteracy.

The UN General Assembly declared the period from 2003 to 2013 as the Literacy Decade. During this period, world conferences were held annually on a variety of topics: "Literacy and health", "Literacy and peace", "The importance of literacy for women" and others.

When celebrated

International Literacy Day is celebrated by everyone every year on 8 September. It was approved by UNESCO in 1966. The holiday took root, and in 2015 the fiftieth anniversary International Literacy Day was celebrated.

In the Russian calendar, this day is not marked in red, but all educated people understand its importance, therefore it is celebrated in educational institutions of all levels - preschool, school, secondary and higher, and promoted in offices and scientific institutions.

In order to make events accessible to the entire population, International Literacy Day is held in the library, art houses, movie theater lobbies and other public places.

Traditions

Not only in Russia, but also in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, such events for the International Day of Literacy as Olympiads, various competitions and quizzes, open lessons have already become traditional, the main purpose of which is to highlight the most literate and diligent pupils and students. Lecturers give presentations and reports highlighting the problems of illiteracy, the consequences of this phenomenon and ways to overcome it. Leaflets with calls to develop independently are distributed among the population. Awarding of outstanding teachers is held everywhere.

How to become literate yourself

There are such good proverbs: "It is always useful to study well", "Those who are great in science will not be lost", "They write not with the pen, but with the mind." They reflect popular beliefs about how important it is to acquire new knowledge.

To achieve good results on this path, it is important:

• Read a lot of good literature. Not necessarily scientific, let it be adventure, fantasy or detective, it is important that their quality is high. Therefore, it is best to read the classics of the genre.
• Look into the dictionary more often to find out the meaning of new words.
• Try to clear your speech from slang, and even more from profanity.
• Do not be offended if someone corrects mistakes in your speech or writing.
• Solve crosswords and puzzles. This will not improve literacy, but will ultimately contribute to the development of intelligence and memory.

Today, September 8, the world celebrates a holiday - the International Day of Solidarity of Journalists, the UN countries celebrate the International Day of Literacy.Today there are holidays in Russia: Day of Military Glory of Russia - Day of the Battle of Borodino (1812), Day of the Financier and Day of the Novorossiysk Naval Region. And in China, Zhongqiu is the festival of the moon and harvest.

International Day of Solidarity of Journalists (international holiday)

The holiday International Day of Solidarity of Journalists was established on September 8, 1958 at the 4th Congress of the International Organization of Journalists in Bucharest. On this day, journalists of all countries and publications, according to the plan of the deputies of the Congress, had to demonstrate to the world their solidarity in protecting their rights.
The day of September 8 was not chosen by chance, it was on this day in 1943 that Julius Fucik, a Czechoslovak journalist, an anti-fascist writer, who was interested in politics from his youth and was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia in 1921, was executed in Germany. He is known all over the world for his book "Reporting with a noose around his neck", which he wrote in the dungeons of the Prague prison.
Fucik was a member of the second central underground government of the Communist Party in 1941, and on April 24, 1942, he was arrested by the Gestapo along with six other members of the liberation movement.

International Literacy Day (UN holiday)

On September 8, the United Nations system celebrates one of the international days- International Literacy Day, which was established by UNESCO at the initiative of the "World Conference of Ministers of Education on the Elimination of Illiteracy" in 1966. The main purpose of this holiday is to revitalize society's efforts to spread literacy - the main area of ​​activity of UNESCO. Literacy for children, youth and adults is not yet fully achieved goal.

Day of Military Glory of Russia - Day of the Battle of Borodino (1812) (Russia)

Today, on September 8, a great holiday is celebrated in Russia - the Day of Military Glory of Russia or the Day of the Borodino Battle of the Russian Army under the command of M.I. Kutuzov with the French army (1812), which was established on March 13, 1995 Federal law"About the days of military glory and memorable dates Russia ".

Financier Day (Russia)

September 8 in Russia professional holiday Financier Day in Russia is celebrated by all employees of financial authorities. This holiday was established by the President of the Russian Federation on August 19, 2011 by his Decree “On the Day of the Financier”.
The date for the celebration was chosen due to the fact that on September 8, 1802, Emperor Alexander I established in Russia with his highest manifesto the Ministry of Finance - one of the oldest institutions in Russia, which for many years has played one of the most key roles in the implementation of Russia's financial policy. In 2002, this Ministry celebrated its 200th anniversary.

Day of the Novorossiysk Naval Region (Russia)

Every year on September 8 in Russia, employees of the operational-tactical territorial association of the Novorossiysk naval base (naval base) as part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet celebrate a professional holiday - the Day of the Novorossiysk naval region.
This tradition began on July 15, 1996 with the order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Navy "On the introduction of annual holidays and professional days by specialty ". The day of the revival on the Black Sea coast of the naval region was chosen as a solemn date.
Zhongqiu - Moon and Harvest Festival (China)
On the 15th day of the eighth month in Chinese lunar calendar(this year the date is September 8), in China it is celebrated as the festival of the moon and the harvest, which in ancient times was called Zhongqiu - mid-autumn.
This holiday - the day of worship of the moon god, occupies an important place in the Chinese calendar, it originated in the era of the Tang dynasty.
According to an ancient tradition, on this day, the Chinese eat special sweet cakes - moon cakes, and in the light of the brightest and roundest moon on this day, they recite poetry. The romantic landscapes of the moonlit night are filled with the fragrance of cassia blossoms. Mooncakes are baked to commemorate the uprising against the Mongol conquerors of the Chinese people. Many centuries ago, notes were baked into such small pies with calls for disobedience to the invaders and revolt. For these pies, the dough is made from crushed sesame seeds and lotus seeds.

Unusual holidays on September 8

Today, September 8, are celebrated unusual holidays- A day of gatherings in the kitchen, the All-Russian day of the Tatar-Mongol yoke and a cool Holiday of riddles and answers

A day of gathering in the kitchen

The kitchen is always warm and cozy, regardless of whether you are sitting there with strangers, with friends, or alone. Gatherings in the kitchen absorb the warmth of your home, its good mood and love. And with good mood you will be able to turn back mountains of problems and perceive any situation with a smile.

All-Russian Day of the Tatar-Mongol yoke

Today, on September 8, an unusual All-Russian holiday can be celebrated - the Day of the Tatar-Mongol yoke.
Holy Russia lived in check,
Since then, the spirit of carbon monoxide has been in us:
Then, with the Golden Horde
There was a Tatar regime here.
A holiday of riddles and answers
This cool holiday, today, September 8, you can celebrate with friends simply, interesting and fun. What could be in life more interesting than riddles? Our whole life is a complete mystery and we are constantly looking for answers to the questions posed by life. And today you can ask questions and let someone find answers to them.

Church holiday according to the folk calendar - Natalya Ovsyanitsa and Adriyan Autumn

On this day, Orthodox Christians honor the memory of the holy Martyr Natalia and Adrian, her husband, who lived on the shores of the Sea of ​​Marmara in Nicomedia, at the beginning of the 4th century. Natalia grew up in a pious Christian family, however, she married a pagan - a noble and wealthy young man Adrian. Together the newlyweds lived a little more than a year and persecution began against Christians.
Emperor Maximilian arrived in Nicomedia, and 23 Christians were brutally tortured on his orders.
Adrian began to ask about God after seeing with what patience the martyrs endured all the trials. As a result, he came to believe in Christ. The pagans, having learned about this, seized and threw a man into prison. Natalia hurried to her husband, learning about this, but Adrian had already been given over to fierce torment. Observing the steadfastness of her husband, the faithful wife encouraged him and strengthened him in faith until the very end.
Natalia, for her mental suffering, deserved a martyr's crown, she immediately after the death of her husband followed to the Kingdom of Heaven.
In Russia, with Natalya Fesianits, peasants began to mow oats. As usual, the first sheaf of oats was carried into the hut with songs and placed under the icon in the red corner. The owner and the workers sat down at the table, and the hostess treated everyone to oat pancakes and dezhen - oat oatmeal mixed in water with berries or milk. On this day, the horses also got food: the peasants poured them plenty of oats. Since ancient times, people have been respectful of oats.
By folk signs it was believed that if by this day the leaves had not fallen from the birch and oak, then the winter would be severe.
Name days on September 8 from: Adrian, Victor, George, Dmitry, Maria, Natalia, Peter, Roman

September 8th in history

1951 - In San Francisco, a peace treaty was concluded between Japan and the allies, according to which Japan renounced all rights to South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands (the USSR did not sign the treaty)
1952 - The first edition of Ernest Hemingway's story "The Old Man and the Sea" is published
1961 - The first report on the link between smoking and heart disease appears
1962 - At the Venice Film Festival the prize "Golden Lion of St. Mark" was awarded to Andrei Tarkovsky's film "Ivan's Childhood"
1966 - Star Trek pilot released
1967 - The Bratsk hydroelectric power station was commissioned
1970 - The USSR approved the charter high school
1974 - Watergate scandal: US President Gerald Ford pardoned former president Richard Nixon for all the crimes he was involved with during his presidency
1982 - The anti-aircraft gun-missile system ZPRK 2K22 "Tunguska" was adopted by the Soviet troops
1989 - The People's Movement of Ukraine was founded in Kiev