Celebrating World Literacy Day

Thursday, September 8th is World Literacy Day, and this year the global community is celebrating the theme Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces — something buildOn knows a lot about! We’ll be spreading the word about the illiteracy epidemic and how buildOn is advancing literacy and taking on global poverty by building quality classrooms around the world, and we need your help!

Share how literacy has changed your life and spread the word:

• Step 1: Post a photo of a book that’s changed your life on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn or your favorite social media platform on World Literacy Day, September 8th.

• Step 2: Add a caption about the power of literacy to change lives by eliminating poverty and spread the word about buildOn’s work to promote literacy.

• Step 3: Include the hashtags #WorldLiteracyDay and #buildOnReadOn and encourage your friends to share their favorite book and help spread the word.

Check out some sample posts with photos and captions below:

Crafting Your Message:

As you are writing your caption, think about why literacy is important to you personally and what your life might be like if you couldn’t do simple things like read a road sign or medical document, send a text message, or experience the knowledge and joy that comes from reading a great book.

You can also include some important facts around the power of literacy and education:

• 773 million adults across the globe cannot read or write, 2/3 of these adults are female.
• Children born to educated mothers are 50% more likely to live past the age of 5.
• 171 million fewer people would live in poverty if all children acquired basic reading skills- a 12% reduction in global poverty.
• Just one more year of schooling can increase a girl’s future income by up to 12%.
• If all girls completed their primary school education, the number of child brides married before the age of 15 would be reduced by one-sixth.
• There would be $1.19 trillion dollars in savings to the global economy if illiteracy were eliminated.
• 58 million primary school-aged children are currently not in school, and will never learn to read.
• More information on the global education crisis can also be found here!

Want to keep it simple? Feel free to copy and edit this text with the title of your favorite book:

Happy #WorldLiteracyDay! To celebrate I’m featuring one of my all-time favorite books, _________ to raise awareness and critical funds to ensure that every child and adult gets the opportunity to learn to read. Post a photo of yourself with one of your favorite books and the hashtag #buildOnReadOn to raise awareness around the importance of literacy and donate today at buildon.org/literacy to support the critical work that buildOn is doing to end the cycle of illiteracy worldwide!

How is buildOn helping to end illiteracy?

buildOn constructs schools in rural villages in 8 economically developing countries, places were children were previously learning in inadequate temporary shelters, outside under the trees, or were forced to walk several miles to reach a proper school in a neighboring community. buildOn schools provide children with safe, quality classrooms where they can thrive and learn.

buildOn works closely with community leaders to identify and enroll out-of-school children by addressing the barriers that kept them from the classroom and providing accelerated learning courses to help them catch up on the education they missed. Without these efforts, many children would never return to the classroom and would be plagued by the effects of illiteracy for the rest of their lives.

buildOn provides Adult Literacy Classes for women and men who never had the chance to attend school as children. Through these classes, participants learn to read and write and gain valuable skills that will help them to lift their families and their communities out of poverty.

Thank you for joining us this World Literacy Day and helping to spread the word about the power of literacy to transform lives and end the cycle of poverty. If you have any questions or want to learn more about how you can support buildOn’s work, please reach out to Caryn Bladt, Global Marketing Manager at caryn.bladt@buildon.org.