September 8 has been designated International Literacy Day by the United Nations and Guyana like the rest of the world is set to commemorate its significance today.In this regard Minister of Education, Priya Manickchand,Cheap Jerseys Free, has issued a message amplifying the importance of what she describes as “the global gift of literacy.” Her message is as follows:There is much reason to celebrate. Close to four billion people the world over are currently blessed with the gift of literacy; and if there are those who are still to be reached, those numbers still amount to an achievement worthy of global celebration.We in Guyana have always boasted a consistently high level of literacy. We have won international recognition for the job which our education system has done in producing a highly literate population and that is a feat which we celebrate today.The theme for International Literacy Day 2012 – Literacy and Peace – was adopted by the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD) to draw attention to the role which the condition of literacy can play improving the quality of human life.If we ponder for a moment the nexus between literacy and peace what we will find is that the facility of being literate not only brings people closer to attaining individual freedoms but also contributes to a better understanding of our world, our region,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, our country and our community.That understanding, I submit, contributes immeasurably to both preventing and resolving conflict. More than that, one only need take a cursory glance around the world to discover that it is much more difficult to establish or sustain a literate environment in unstable and conflict-ridden societies.In this context I wish to make two points about the way in which the theme of this year’s International Literacy Day might relate to Guyana. First,Wholesale Jerseys, I believe that the fact that we have been able to retain such a high level of literacy is a tribute to the political stability and absence of conflict in our society.There is no doubt in my mind that these conditions have helped to create an enabling environment in which to sustain a high level of literacy.??My second point has to do with the importance of we, as Guyanese, recognizing the good fortune of being a highly literate population. Sometimes one is inclined to wonder whether, over the years,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, we have taken sufficient advantage of the gift of our literacy in the pursuit of dispute settlement and conflict resolution.As we celebrate International Literacy Day 2012 all of us would do well to ponder the enlightening perspective of the significance of literacy proffered by the Director General of the United Nations Educational,China Jerseys NFL, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Irina Bokova who declares that “literacy is the foundation of all learning.It provides individuals with the skills to understand the world and shape it, to participate in democratic processes and have a voice, and also to strengthen their cultural identity.????The UNESCO Director General’s pronouncement is as elegant a description of the essence of literacy as it is a precise articulation of the nexus between enhancing literacy worldwide and improving the quality of human life.We in the Ministry of Education recognize and take seriously our own particular role in continually enhancing the level of literacy in our society. Let me say, however, that while we will continue to do everything in our power to continue to improve the capacity of the school system to raise literacy standards even higher, the job does not belong to the teachers in the formal education system alone.It falls to all of us, individually and collectively to contribute to the task of enhancing literacy levels in our country. It might interest the literate amongst us to know that there are some United Nations-recommended initiatives that we can take, either as individuals or groups,NFL Jerseys Wholesale, outside the formal school system to improve literacy levels?in our country.You can contribute to enhancing literacy levels by: donating books and other reading material to your local school, library or community centre; setting up a Reading Club in your community; volunteering to teach a literacy class in your community; mentoring one or more non-literate persons; in the final analysis literacy is much more than an educational tool.It is an instrument – and a critical one at that – that helps to craft the quality of life in our neighbourhoods, our communities, our country, our region and in the world as a whole.We in Guyana, whether we are within or outside the fo