The United Nations faces unprecedented challenges that threaten its relevance in the modern world writes Nand Kishor and Amal Chandra Dr. Parveen Kumar* According to United Nations, Literacy is a basic human right. It is central to the creation of inclusive, sustainable and peaceful societies.
Former President of United States Mr. Bill Clinton in 1994 had very aptly said that, ‘Literacy is not a luxury; it is a right and a responsibility. If our world is to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, we must harness the energy and creativity of all our citizens.
' The world today is focused on meeting the targets as envisaged in Sustainable Development Goals SDG 2030. The theme for the year 2024 gives us an opportunity to join efforts to accelerate progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030, especially SDG 4 on quality and SDG 16 on Peace, justice and strong institutions. While doing so, it will also be ensured that the reciprocal relations between literacy and other areas of development get fulfilled.
Literacy is critical to economic development of a nation as well as well being of individual and community. A high literacy rate of a country gets reflected in various other human development indices. Literacy has traditionally been thought of as reading and writing, but it is more than that.
What exactly is literacy? Miriam-Webster Dictionary defines literacy as ‘the quality or state of being literate: educated...
able to read and writ.