The International Literacy Day is a reminder that reading and early literacy challenges still exist around the world.
Celebrated on September 8, the International Literacy Day was introduced by Unesco more than 50 years ago. It is an annual celebration to mark the importance of advancing the literacy agenda around the world.
South Africa currently faces literacy crisis with 80% of grade 4 learners not able to read for meaning. Only 2% of children’s books published commercially in South Africa are in local African languages even though 80% of South Africans speak a home language other than English.
Early literacy specialist, author and translator, Dr Xolisa Guzula, said: “The crisis is deepened when schools are reluctant to offer African languages as languages of choice, alongside English and Afrikaans.
“We need to see more African language literature being made available to ensure it is preserved and embraced by future generations, and that children feel confident to learn and grow in their mother tongue.”
This year the focus is on transforming literacy learning spaces, and Unesco will highlight the need to create collaborative opportunities so that many people will rethink the need of literacy learning spaces.
The launch of the Cadbury Read To Succeed initiative, a collaboration of partners and the South African public, aims to spark the love for reading by making more relatable home-grown stories accessible in all 11 South African languages.
Lara Sidersky, Mondelez SA category lead for chocolate, said: “While International Literacy Day presents an opportunity to draw attention to the literacy challenges we face in the country, we are also celebrating the positive impact this journey has yielded to date.
“We know that access to learning tools leads to change and experts agree that learning to read in your home language aids comprehension and promotes a culture of reading. Thanks to the generosity of the public, over 800 children’s stories are now available in all South African languages [Cadbury Digital Library].
Cadbury has also partnered with the Thuli Madonsela Foundation to identify opportunities to get stories into the right hands through their affiliates.
These activities all form part of a school’s programme, which will be launched in the coming months, that broadens the scope and impact of the home-grown stories initiative.
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