The right to education in the development of nations is the essential objective of UNESCO in proclaiming September 8 as International Literacy Day.
In the 21st century, while some enjoy dream lives, there are more than 750 million illiterate people in the world, and more than 30 million of them are in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Behind these frightening figures are the life stories of people without access to a school, a job and, therefore, limited access to a dignified life. Not knowing how to read, write or do basic calculations literally means not existing.
The Cuban Revolution, which early on spread the idea that only knowledge could move the country forward, exhibits one of the lowest illiteracy rates in the region and the highest schooling rates, after undertaking a glorious Literacy Campaign.
Forming conscience through the light of education in Cuba, in the initial years of the victorious January, was to make another Revolution, that sought in plains and mountains, sought with a manual “Alfabeticemos” and the primer “Venceremos”, which facilitated the universal access to the different levels of education free of charge.
Cuba’s efforts did not stop at its geographical limits. Literacy in various lands of the planet was changing lives, it was the opening of new paths, it was the courage to open doors to knowledge.
The famous method “Yo sí puedo” (Yes, I can make it) touched countries such as Nicaragua, Angola, Haiti, Honduras, Venezuela and Bolivia, among other nations, which speak of the success of a program that, in the light of the new times, adopts its methods to the new information and communication technologies.
Cuba’s contribution to the world is of this greatness, so that learning does not remain a chimera on another International Literacy Day.
