International Literacy Day 2024 Recap
On September 9th, The Literacy Cooperative, in partnership with our 15 community partners, proudly recognized and celebrated International Literacy Day (ILD). Since 1967, this global celebration has emphasized the critical importance of literacy as a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of dignity. In Cuyahoga County, 56% of kindergartners are not on track to read at grade level, and 54% of Cuyahoga County adults are not at a proficient level of literacy. ILD serves as a powerful reminder of the pressing need to advance the literacy agenda, ultimately paving the way for a more literate and sustainable society for all.
This year’s ILD theme was “Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace,” and worked to unpack issues related to literacy in multilingual contexts for achieving lasting peace and explored possible solutions for enhancing policies, lifelong learning systems, governance, programs, and practices.
Since 2014, The Literacy Cooperative has led the community’s participation in UNESCO’s annual celebrations as a way of advocating for our community’s commitment to literacy. Using this year’s theme, we invited the community and our partners to promote literacy by posting a quote or photo of their favorite book celebrating other cultures using our #Read4Unity and #ILD24 hashtags.
The 2024 campaign was a great success! Across all of The Literacy Cooperative’s social media platforms experienced an average of a 30% engagement increase on our posts compared to the 2023 ILD campaign.
We want to express our thanks and appreciation to all partners involved in the 2024 campaign. They include: Starting Point, Cleveland Kids’ Book Bank, Warrensville Heights City Schools, The Centers, Cuyahoga County Board of Health, Seeds of Literacy, Youth Opportunities Unlimited, Literacy Innovations, LLC, Reach Out and Read Greater Cleveland, YWCA Greater Cleveland, Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Early Ages Healthy Stages, Pre4CLE, Heights Libraries!
The Literacy Cooperative is grateful to our community for sharing our messages about the importance of advancing literacy in our community. Literacy provides the opportunity for equality, inclusion, and advancement for all. ILD is a great platform to bring awareness to this issue. We encourage everyone to continue the work each and every day.
