Introduction

How many people here can read and write? (people raise their hands)
Now if this room was the entire worlds population, 1 in 5 of you would be illiterate. 796 million
people. Just imagine what life would be like for you if you could not read or write. How would you
carry out your daily life? How would you read emails? How would you drive and travel? How
would you write checks and account? How would you read your kids a bedtime story when they
go to sleep? These are all the challenges that nearly an 8th of the worlds population face daily.
Yet out of all these people, more than a quarter of a billion children are illiterate.
The worlds future, the worlds children, the worlds innovative mind. With so many kids illiterate,
how can the world continue? I firmly believe that child illiteracy is one of the most important
issues of this age and because if children are illiterate, proper education and creativity do not
follow. This is an appalling monstrosity of an issue and I believe that every single able minded
human being on this earth should take up their mantle and destroy this problem once and for
all!!

Part 1: Problem
When the words Child Illiteracy comes up, our brains go on auto-pilot and we think of poverty.
This statement that is perceived by the vast majority of us is actually true; more often than not
the people who are illiterate are usually in the clutches of poverty. However that is not to say that
there are only poor people who are illiterate. Illiteracy is not limited to any socioeconomic class
and could apply to anyone, it is just that illiteracy is more prominent in poorer societies.
Does anyone know why this might be? Why are the people in poverty the most illiterate in the
world?
In essence, there is a profound correlation between poverty and illiteracy. The fact of the matter
is, because children in poverty are less fortunate than us they are illiterate. They have less food,
water, shelter, books,unsafe communities, a lack of educational resources; all of these factors
impact on childrens education. Consequently, at the start of primary school these kids have a
vocabulary 50% worse than their middle class peers. The majority of the 126 million youth that
are illiterate live in South Asia, where there are 65 million children illiterate, then Sub-Saharan
Africa where there are 47 million children. In the most under-developed countries, a quarter of
the young men ad a third of young women are illiterate.
This continues throughout the childs life, and it makes it virtually impossible or illiterates to
understand the world around them. They grow up to have little skills in life and in turn, do not get
jobs. However if they do get a job it is low pay, and all of these people are on the brink of
financial ruin. Plagued by illiteracy, these children do not learn enough in life and it is extremely
difficult for them to gain a professional career. Additionally, because these children live in

impoverished societies with negative influences all around them crime, drug addiction and a
cycle of poverty is likely to follow.
The effects are not only bad for individuals, but also for many societies and countries as well.
For example, there are many parts of the economy where securing appropriate, skilled labour is
difficult despite unemployment and this is largely because of poor education. This in turn leads
to lower output than what could be possible which then also contributes to lower GDP and
exacerbates illiteracy, continuing in a vicious cycle.
Education is the center of life for kids at primary school and secondary school, and for these
children in their circumstances everything in their lives must revolve around education. These
days, teachers teaching in impoverished countries need to be involved in the childrens lives
100%. This way they can impact the lives of these children much better. However, with this said,
teachers are not trained enough to do this, and providing schools is merely not enough to solve
illiteracy in the world that we live in. In the world 60% of all the secondary school eligible
children are actually enrolled and even though primary school is mandatory, secondary school is
a low priority in most developing countries which leaves 71 million children out of secondary
school. With schools in impoverished countries, the people in that country may not want to or
are unable to go to school as it is against their values, cultures,religion, and they may have to
work underage to earn for the family; making illiteracy be passed down by generations; and
even if education is mandatory the quality is substandard and the fact remains that they do not
have enough resources to provide a quality education for children.
So how do we solve illiteracy?

Part 2: Solution
So what are we doing about it? What are we doing to solve this issue? You all must have heard
of several charities around the world that are aiming to donate and create schools that would be
available to all. Unicef, Room to Read, Book Aid International, the obvious ones that are huge
and you have probably heard of before. All of these charities provide 3 common elements to aid
the fight against illiteracy; books, schools and money. But are these things really effective?
Lets take books first. Books are undeniably the worlds primary resource for learning to read from
scratch. When I was little, my mother used to read to me every single day and night non stop.
And because of that, I m the voracious literary machine that I am today. However, in
impoverished areas it is extremely difficult to read to children and let them develop their skills.
Parents are usually illiterate as well and therefore charity representatives are the only people
that can help these children; however even with 1 representative reading to 30 kids, it is not as
effective as going one to one with a child and there are nowhere near enough charity
representatives in one organization to do this constantly to have a great effect.

Next, lets take a look at schools. Schools are essential for learning and development and
probably all of you agree with me. How many of you went to school? so we all know that going
to school and being literate have a profound correlation. But getting educated all depends on
whether the quality of education is good or not. In impoverished countries, getting teachers is
easy enough. But getting teachers that are able to teach 30 completely uneducated kids is
virtually impossible in these circumstances, especially ones that need to be 100% involved in
children life. This way they can balance the life of the child between work and learning. But once
again, local teachers cannot do this and there are nowhere near enough charity workers to do
this.
Finally, money. Money is the centerpiece of the world and makes the world go round. The main
charitable medium is money. But money does not solve everything. Donations to charities are
used to make schools, deliver books, and other educational materials. But because there is the
order and the money to deliver, does not mean that the actual product is good and sufficient.
Money funds schools, but the quality of schools is substandard. Money delivers books, but the
books do not necessarily help.
So how do we help? How do we solve this issue if all of these things fail?
We are in the age of innovation. Technology is everywhere, and so many people today have a
mobile phone.
In addition, the world has an excess of money. Thousands of dollars can impact so much in
fixing illiteracy, and combined with cheap yet innovative technological designs we can impact
illiteracy and I've it a punch in the face. We certainly have the capabilities to do it, but why arent
we?
There are so many technological options to help illiteracy globally. Providing tablets with
educational apps, cheap windup radios for children to listen to and learn, and so many more
affordable options. I interviewed Andy Kay from the World Literacy Foundation and he said that
their charity are one of the only ones producing a tablet that has many educational apps
installed on it, and is solar powered so it is much more effective in poor areas. Why don't we
mass produce this? Design that matters created a microfilm projector called the Kinkajou, and
using LED lights, plastic optics and a cassette it is a 25 USD projector that is a brilliant way to
teach in the darkest of nights. In the age of innovation where the possibilities are limitless, the
only question is why don't we? Why don't we give children small devices in which ebooks are
installed and there is a narrator to read to them? Why don't we provide a TV that can operate in
a poor area and have subtitles so children can learn? Future technologies are boundary less,
and the only limit is imagination. We should utilize this imagination, innovation and technology to
provide a sustainable solution which moves with the times and that everyone can contribute too.
We have the means and we need to empower that.

Conclusion
So what responsibility to we as global citizens have? Why should we even care to protect the
earth and other people who are less fortunate than us? It all comes down to survival and making
the community that we live in a happier place. Children WANT to learn. The hole in the wall
experiments (Sugata Mitra TED prize winner) have proven that if given the slightest opportunity,
kids learn and will share the learning with their peers. We cannot get away with being people
who chuck away any thought of helping people. So audience, I leave you with this; illiteracy is an
issue which brings a nuclear warhead sized threat to our front doorstep and envisions us in ruin.
That is the plain reason why we should dress it now. Not tomorrow, not next year, NOW. It is our
communal responsibility as the people of earth to stand up for one another and put a small bit of
effort to make a big change. If we all do just that, millions of people would have the education
and benefits that they deserve. Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much. Those
were the words of Hellen Keller and as I stand here quoting her in front of you all today, we all
need to work together to make a big difference. Illiteracy is a byproduct if human ignorance, and
together we right that mistake to demolish this monstrosity. Again I reiterate
The smallest effort can make the biggest change.
Thank you.