Dear State leaders,

In 2001, you adopted the resolution of the United Nations Literacy Decade.

It underlines that the General Assembly was convinced that literacy is crucial to the acquisition, by every child, youth and adult, of essential life skills that enable them to address the challenges they can face in life, and represents an essential step in basic education, which is an indispensable means for effective participation in the societies and economies of the twenty-first century. In the same resolution, the Assembly reaffirmed that literacy for all is at the heart of basic education for all and that creating literate environments and societies is essential.

Today, in every country, too many people are still being excluded from literacy and the literate environments are far from being up to the task.

I remind you that literacy is an internationally recognized fundamental Human Right, and has multiple beneficial effects on people and societies.

Therefore I call on you to make literacy a policy priority in order to fulfil your commitments made ten years ago.