Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, esteemed colleagues and friends,
I am so delighted to join the global community in the celebration of the International Literacy Day 2025 themed: “Promoting Literacy in the Digital Era. This theme is both timely and urgent.
Literacy, in today’s world, transcends the ability to read and write. It entails imbibing relevant skills for searching, evaluating and creating information in the digital environment. The digital era provides us unique opportunities that include instant and anywhere access to information and knowledge, global collaborations and innovative tools that fosters learning.
While the developed economies are thriving digitally, the developing ones are striving. How then do we take advantage of the digital environment in promoting literacy to ensure that the digital revolution benefits all instead of the privileged few? We must engage in literacy campaign that is inclusive, justifiably unbiased and forward-looking. We must enable our youths, women and rural communities not only with basic literacy but dig8ital skills required to thrive in the highly competitive digital economy.
It must be emphasized that the promotion of literacy is not the sole responsibility of the government: it requires the collective efforts of all stakeholders (e.g., policymakers, educators, private sector, civil society and families). This is the surest way to build systems that bridge the digital literates and the digital illiterates.
Let us understand that literacy empowers individuals to participate actively in the sociopolitical and economic activities of their communities. If we promote literacy today, we equip individuals not only to survive in the changing digital landscape, but lead and shape it. On this occasion of the International Literacy Day, I charge us to commit to this noble campaign for everyone ( faculty, staff, students, researchers) ) to be empowered for opportunities in this digital era.
Thank you.
Dr Promise Ilo
(University Librarian)
W A T
