International Literacy Day

The global celebration of International Literacy Day (ILD) 2025 , organized by UNESCO under the theme ‘ Promoting Literacy in the Digital Era’ , will take place on 8 September 2025 at its Headquarters in Paris, France. The in-person event will also be livestreamed to a global audience. The celebration will include the award ceremony of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes. Interpretation will be available in English, French and Spanish. The main objectives of the global conference are: • To reflect on both the potential and risks of digitalization for literacy. • To explore how lifelong learning ecosystems can be enhanced to promote literacy in the digital era. • To identify effective digitally empowered literacy programmes and practices. • To reflect on the futures of literacy in a world where digitalization is increasingly transforming our life, work and learning. • To celebrate the achievements of the six laureates of the 2025 UNESCO International Literacy Prizes. Participa...

 For collective stocktaking and critical reflection on literacy in the digital era against this background, five areas are proposed to frame discussions towards and during International Literacy Day (ILD) 2025.   1) Centrality of literacy in the digital era 2) Leveraging digital technologies to promote literacy  3) Taking learners’ contexts into account to leave no one behind  4) Harnessing the power of literacy for sustainable, just and peaceful societies 5) Co-creating inclusive, literate, digital societies by enhanced lifelong learning ecosystems

In today’s connected world, literacy is no longer limited to reading and writing on paper alone. It entails identifying, understanding, interpreting, evaluating, creating, verifying, communicating, and computing, using digital as well as written and print materials. It is therefore a basis for and integral to broader knowledge and skills required to address wide-ranging issues such as health, climate change, citizenship and employment. As a continuum of proficiency that changes across lifespans, literacy plays a central role in thinking critically, developing ideas, contextualizing accessed information, and navigating complex environments . In the digital era , literacy is essential for safe and responsible engagement with digital tools and content, for leveraging post-digital age technologies such as generative AI and facilitating balanced human-machine relationships and co-existence through continuous learning, relearning, and unlearning as skills evolve and technologies develo...

  Promoting literacy as part of the right to education requires ensuring that everyone has access to meaningful lifelong literacy learning opportunities without discrimination and achieves relevant functional literacy in their unique socio-economic, political, cultural, and linguistic contexts as a common good. This can be achieved, for instance, through integrating literacy into national policies and strategies for technology-empowered lifelong learning , literacy provision in multiple learning spaces in formal, non-formal and informal settings linked with national norms and frameworks (e.g. competencies, qualifications and certification), enhancing capacities of literacy educators and other professionals , and continuous monitoring and evaluation of literacy and the use of digital solutions to inform future policies, actions and practice. Collaboration and partnerships within and beyond the education sector are essential, especially where the right to literacy and education...

Digital transformation must leave no one behind. Innovative and effective literacy practices in a digitalera require relevance and recognition of diversity across literacy-related systems , policies, programmes, and teaching and learning practices. Digital technologies help promote impactful literacy initiatives when they are used with caution , are locally grounded and context-specific, foster participatory approaches, embrace learners’ voices and agency, consider learners’ profiles, needs, aspirations, cultures, and knowledge systems, and cocreate new knowledge and solutions. Digital technologies , for instance, have facilitated the use of local languages , helped develop content relevant to learners’ knowledge, cultures and contexts, and contributed to making learning more personalized.

  The ILD2025 celebrations aim at Celebrating literacy achievements and raising awareness of the need to address remaining and emerging challenges in the rapidly evolving digital landscapes

  The ILD2025 celebrations aim at Reflecting on the transformative power of literacy as a key factor for improving education and lifelong learning in the digital era.

 The ILD2025 celebrations aim at Exploring both potential and risks of digitalization for literacy teaching and learning, programmes, policies and lifelong learning ecosystems.

  The ILD2025 celebrations aim at Identifying effective straegies and programmes for developing literacy and digital skills.

  The ILD2025 celebrations aim at Identifying digital programmes and initiatives that effectively support the development of literacy skills of diverse learners and target groups.

  The ILD2025 celebrations aim at Fostering multistakeholder dialogue and partnerships in support of enhanced literacy efforts.