Julian Lennon received the award today, on International Literacy Day, for his outstanding contribution to literacy along with international organisations and individuals who have contributed to literacy improvements around the world also being recognized.
Julian Lennon, the English-born singer/songwriter, filmmaker, author, photographer and humanitarian, is recognized today by the World Literacy Awards for his philanthropic work as the founder of The White Feather Foundation.
Through the work of The White Feather Foundation, judges deemed Lennon as having demonstrated exceptional and sustained depth in commitment to the advancement of literacy. The announcement was made at the World Literacy Awards, an online ceremony hosted by the World Literacy Foundation.
“With support from The World Literacy Foundation, children’s lives are transformed, creating a positive ripple effect worldwide. I am deeply grateful to be affiliated with this organization and for the acknowledgement of my work with The White Feather Foundation as a recipient of this year’s World Literacy Awards.” said Julian Lennon.
The awards were judged by a 16-strong panel which included writer, director, producer, Downton Abbey creator, Julian Fellowes, author and screenwriter Victoria Aveyard, Dr. Cree, the Chair of the World Literacy Council, and Tae Keller, author of the Newbery winning ‘When You Trap a Tiger’. There were many worthy nominees and winners of interest, for their outstanding work in literacy, around the world.
Malaika, a life-changing nonprofit organization in The Democratic Republic of the Congo received the award today, on International Literacy Day, September 8 2021.
Malaika has won a World Literacy Award for their significant contribution to literacy by an organization.
Through the incredible work of founder Noëlla Coursaris Musunka judges deemed Malaika, based in the DRC, as having demonstrated exceptional and sustained depth in commitment to the advancement of literacy.
Before Malaika, the village of Kalebuka in south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo had no access to electricity, clean water, or educational facilities.
Malaika’s community-driven model has been integral to the organization’s success since its founding. Through a comprehensive, local approach, an entire village has undergone a transformative ripple effect.
Outside of the school gates, they are ensuring the entire community thrives. The Malaika Community Center, opened in 2013 in partnership with FIFA, provides a hub of learning for over 5,000 youth and adults each year. From free literacy and vocational education to sports programs and regular access to the internet, Malaika is empowering lives from the ground up.
Read Easy UK founder and CEO Ginny Williams-Ellis also received an award today for her charity’s literacy work, on International Literacy Day, September 8 2021.
Virginia (Ginny) Williams-Ellis has won a World Literacy Award for their significant contribution to literacy by an Individual.
Ginny Williams-Ellis is a former literacy tutor and the founder and CEO of the UK charity “Read Easy” that provides free, confidential one-to-one reading coaching for adults from trained volunteers through locally-run affiliated volunteer groups. Since
2010, Read Easy UK, under the guidance of Virginia (Ginny), has grown from a 23 readers group to over 40 groups across the UK, helping more than 500 people a year to learn to read.
Professor Bronwen Thomas received the award today for her Academic research work on literacy in the digital age.
Bronwen Thomas is Professor of English and New Media at Bournemouth University, England, and a Principal Investigator on several UK Government funded projects exploring how digital technologies are transforming reading. She is the author of Literature and Social Media and is currently working on a Companion to Literary Media.
Prof. Thomas is currently researching and exploring the impact of new digital technologies (e-readers, tablet computers etc.,) on readers and reading. She also investigates how readers use online spaces and social media to discuss their reading and interact with other readers, and how digital technologies may facilitate greater inclusivity and accessibility. The research involves working closely with a number of leading academics and stakeholders both in the UK and internationally.
Read On Canada! wins special award for Contribution to Literacy in response to the Pandemic
The Significant Contribution to Literacy in response to the Pandemic award was won by Read On Canada! The literacy initiative was created in 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and ran again in 2021. The program’s aim is to address learning loss caused by extended closures of schools, libraries, daycares and community program among children in Canada.
Even before the pandemic, approximately one million children (one in every eight children) in Canada did not have the skills to read at grade level. Recognizing that COVID-19 could exacerbate this already critical issue, the Read On Canada! coalition of literacy organizations from across Canada came together, in partnership with food banks, to bring the joy of reading to thousands of children.
Read On Canada! distributed thousands of books to kids, and provided training and support to food bank staff so they could share reading tips along with the books. By the end of summer 2021 in Canada, they will have distributed nearly 300,000 brand- new children’s books through food banks, and shared fun reading activities for all families online.
They also created a reading movement with well-known Canadians. Author Margaret Atwood, astronaut Chris Hadfield and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and many more shared messages encouraging reading.
Kehkashan Basu, an Emirati environmentalist and human rights activist,will receive the award today, on International Literacy Day, for her contribution to literacy by a youth.
This year’s annual World Literacy Awards recognized Kehkashan Basu for her Significant Contribution to Literacy by a Youth.
Kehkashan Basu is a young activist, born in 2000, Kehkashan has positively impacted the global fraternity with her work on children’s rights, peace and disarmament, climate justice, gender equality, and social up-lifting.
Kehkashan is the Founder-President of Green Hope Foundation, a United Nations Human Rights Champion, winner of the 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize and winner of the First-Ever Voices Youth Gorbachev-Shultz Legacy Award for Nuclear Disarmament. She is also the winner of the 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize.
Kehkashan has been helping to spread sustainability literacy for 13 years, and she has developed an advocacy tool called “Environment Academy.” Her sustainability education workshops and webinars on sustainability have reached over 200,000 people virtually. She has also created a mobile library project launched in rural Bangladesh to deliver education to the doorstep of 100,000 children who are out of school.
Julian Lennon and The White Feather Foundation
The White Feather Foundation promotes and supports education, health, conservation, and Indigenous cultures through various projects worldwide. Lennon has written four books including the New York Times bestselling Touch the Earth trilogy for young children, and the forthcoming graphic novel, The Morning Tribe, for middle-grade kids, available this fall. Amongst his work to improve global literacy standards, Lennon set up The Cynthia Lennon Scholarship for Girls in honor of his late mother, and has so far awarded over 40 educational scholarships to girls across Africa and the U.S.
Andrew Kay continued; “The pandemic has caused serious disruption in the lives of children learning to read and write, particularly those from low-income homes with limited access to books, education resources and online learning tools. Around the world so many children and young people need help in this fight against illiteracy. Literacy is the ticket to learning, opportunity and empowerment.”
Please visit this website for further information about the Judging Panel, other award recipients and the World Literacy Foundation https://worldliteracyfoundation.org/world-literacy-awards/
©️ World Literacy Foundation. 2021.