Six outstanding literacy programmes from Colombia, Lebanon, Mexico, Kingdom of the Netherlands, Nigeria and Thailand have been awarded the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes for their exceptional contributions to advancing literacy across the globe.
One winner was The ‘Escuelas LEO’ Programme by the ‘BibloRed’ (Colombia). Launched in 2024 by BibloRed, the programme provides intercultural and multilingual literacy opportunities for marginalized communities in Bogotá, including Indigenous Peoples, Deaf communities, migrants, displaced populations and LGBTIQ+ groups.
Another winner was ‘Project PAL’ (Primary Accelerated Literacy) by the WAER Waters Charity Foundation (Nigeria). Launched in 2023 by the Waer Waters Charity Foundation, a Nigerian NGO addressing learning poverty among out-of-school children in conflict-affected areas of the Niger Delta, the programme provides foundational literacy to children who are out of school and have limited access to education. It combines solar-powered ‘Literacy Hubs’ for safe learning spaces, teaching in indigenous languages before transitioning to English, and a ‘Teaching at the Right Level’ approach that groups learners by ability.