Applications and Nominations are Now Open For the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes 2018

[dropcap]S[/dropcap]LUDTERA would like to inform the St. Lucian Government, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) and individuals, that the applications and nominations are now open for the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes 2018.

This year’s theme is ‘Literacy and Skills Development’ and the programs and individuals who promote literacy around the world will be awarded. This is an opportune moment to celebrate, recognize and shine a light on any St. Lucian organizations, institutions, or individuals, who have made outstanding contributions to the promotion of literacy in St. Lucia.

Since 1967, the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes have rewarded excellence and innovation in the field of literacy. Over 485 projects and programs undertaken by governments, non-governmental organizations and individuals around the world have already received recognition and support for their excellent work.

Through two prestigious Prizes, UNESCO supports effective literacy practices and encourages the promotion of dynamic literate societies to close the literacy gap of approximately 750 millions of people.

Awards

UNESCO distinguishes between two Literacy Prizes which are given to five laureates:

The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize (2 awards), was established in 1989 and is supported by the Government of the Republic of Korea. It gives special consideration to programs that focus on the development and use of mother-tongue literacy education and training. Read the statutes.

The UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy (3 awards), was established in 2005, and is supported by the Government of the People’s Republic of China. This Prize recognizes programs that promote adult literacy, especially in rural areas and for out-of-school youth, particularly girls and women. Read the statutes.

Each of the prize winners will receive a medal, a diploma and US$20,000.

Submission of Applications

All applications should be submitted to nominating entities, such as the National Commission for UNESCO in the country of the program, and in St. Lucia, the contact persons as listed on the website are;

President: The Honorable Dr Gale Rigobert

Secretary-General: Ms Marcia Symphorien

Saint Lucia National Commission for UNESCO

Address: Ministry of Education, Human Resource Development, 

Youth and Sports

5th Floor, Conway Business Centre

Conway, Castries

Saint Lucia

Phone: 1 (758) 468 5272/3/4/5 or 758-4527286

Fax: 758-4517133

E-mail: slunatcom@yahoo.com

National Commissions Website on unesco.org: http://saintlucia.comnat.unesco.org/

Year established: 2nd February 1981

Applications can also be submitted to an NGO that is in an official partnership with UNESCO. Applications can be submitted via the online platform.

Selection Criteria

All programs and projects must meet the selection criteria below, in order to be taken into consideration;

1. Relevance to the themes – The program/project is pertinent to the areas focused by the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes and the specific theme of this year.
2. Relevance to individuals and societal needs and robustness – The program/project is relevant to the individual and societal needs in a given context.
   The program/project is robust and effective in its design, delivery, structure, management, monitoring and evaluation.
3. Quality of teaching and learning – The quality of teaching and learning involves interrelated dimensions such as the effectiveness, the efficiency, the equality, the relevance and the pertinence .
4. Impact – The ‘impact’ relates to both positive and negative changes made by a program/project, to beneficiaries, communities and broader societies. Changes include both intended and unintended ones demonstrated by qualitative and/or quantitative evidence.
5. Innovative features – The Innovative features are concerned with new/original ideas, solutions, approaches, methods, devices and perspectives or new ways of adapting traditional ones which can adds value and make a concrete impact.
6. Sustainability – Sustainability is regarding lasting benefits and impacts of a program/project beyond the life cycle of the current program/project.
   This may involve the concrete activities of a program/project designed to ensure sustainability of its results and impacts, the contributions to enriching literate environments in which learners can acquire, use, sustain, and advance literacy skills and the availability of future plan.

In addition to these criteria, the project/program should:

• be ongoing and proven record of innovative work in the field of literacy for at least three years.
• have not been awarded the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes in the past five years.
• promote literacy through effective and innovative projects or programs.

Deadlines

• The deadline for submitting applications for nominations is June 5th 2018 at midnight, Paris time.
• The deadline for nominating entities to submit their nominations to UNESCO is June 17th 2018 at midnight, Paris time.

The nominations will be assessed by an independent International Jury, composed of six experts on the basis of the selection criteria above. Based on the recommendations of the International Jury, the Director-General of UNESCO will be select the finalists to award the Prizes on September 7th 2018 at the occasion of International Literacy Day.

Selection Process

• Application and nomination process
• Selection criteria
• International jury
• Frequently asked questions

To read this article in its entirety, please visit; https://sludtera.wordpress.com/2018/05/02/applications-and-nominations-are-now-open-for-the-unesco-international-literacy-prizes-2018/

— Source: Michelle N. Samuel, Founder of SLUDTERA, and News & Updates Contributor