The President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, released the following statement:
«Proclaimed by UNESCO almost sixty years ago, the International Literacy Day focuses attention on a challenge that is still very topical: 754 million adults around the world, two-thirds of whom are women, do not possess basic literacy skills.
In too many areas of the planet education, despite being formally acknowledged, remains a right denied, and even in the most advanced societies persist forms of exclusion from access to reading, writing and arithmetic. Illiteracy is often synonymous with poverty.
With the founding of the Italian Republic, traditional illiteracy was mostly eradicated in compliance with the dictates of our Constitution. However, the high rate of functional illiteracy continues to be worrying as it involves a third of the adult population: people who have learnt to read and write but are still incapable of using information effectively in everyday life, on the job, and in society. Also alarming is the presence of segments of illiteracy among immigrant populations.
This is compounded by the challenges represented by digitalization, which shift the fruition of contents as well as the very exercise of rights onto new platforms, with the risk of creating inequalities and exclusions. The theme chosen for this year’s International Literacy Day is opportunely “Promoting Literacy in the Digital Era”, which urges us to revise the very meaning of literacy. Nowadays, this process no longer only embraces linguistic but also digital skills, which are essential to tackle ongoing deep transformations. It is an essential condition for the exercise of one’s rights and to enable the formation of independent critical thinking, thus consciously contributing to building a more equitable, open and compassionate society.»
