September 8 was proclaimed the International Literacy Day by UNESCO in November 17, 1965. On International Literacy Day each year, UNESCO reminds the international community of the status of literacy and adult learning globally.

Despite many and varied efforts, literacy remains an elusive target: some 776 million adults lack minimum literacy skills which means that one in five adults is still not literate; 75 million children are out-of-school and many more attend irregularly or drop out.

This year, International Literacy Day will put the spotlight on the empowering role of literacy and its importance for participation, citizenship and social development. Literacy and Empowerment is the theme for the 2009-2010 biennium of the United Nations Literacy Decade.

How can you help promote literacy? Many public schools look for “guest readers” in classrooms and in the library, in fact, many employers will let employees take time off from work to ready to students in classrooms. Look into it.

And today, in honor of International Literacy Day, Go Read a Book!