Equipping youth to address barriers to child literacy in their communities
The Grand Challenge
Children are not achieving minimum proficiency in reading.
More than 90 percent of primary-age children in low-income countries and 75 percent of children in lower-middle income countries – more than 387 million children – are not expected to read or do basic math by the end of primary school. In South Africa, 78 percent of Grade 4 students are unable to read a basic story.
The Big Idea
Digital learning game that prepares youth to tackle illiteracy in their communities.
At the core of social innovation are new ideas that work to meet pressing unmet needs and improve peoples’ lives. Research shows that engaging more young people in finding solutions is critical for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and creating sustainable change.
Leaders for Literacy is a digital learning game developed by All Children Reading: A Grand Challenge for Development in partnership with Pearson, Project Literacy and the World Bank. The project was adapted from Evoke, originally developed by the World Bank, to equip youth with 21st century and social innovation skills to create solutions that address barriers to literacy, beginning in their own communities.
Leaders for Literacy
Latest Research & Resources
Introduction to Translation on the Global Digital Library
Learn about the Global Digital Library and how to translate its open-source books and resources into additional languages.Adding Sign Language Video to Books on the Global Digital Library
A video tutorial explaining how to add sign language video to books on the Global Digital Library.Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Accessible EPUBS
eKitabu's toolkit helps publishers and others create accessible EPUBs with image descriptions, accessible navigation, dyslexic fonts, and optional sign language videos.Bloom Training Resources
Training guides available in English, French and Spanish instruct on how to use Bloom and train others to use the software.Books for Every Child: Creating Engaging Content in Underserved Languages
Edtech company Asafeer and the Global Digital Library share how to use, adapt and translate 100 STEM-focused eBooks in Arabic and English funded by ACR GCD to other languages or contexts.
Leaders for Literacy
Latest Updates
- Blog // May 5, 2020
The Asia Foundation to create first large collection of minority language books for children in Laos, Nepal and Papua New Guinea
ACR GCD’s Begin With Books prize to fund the creation of 380 books in six local languages for regions in which only 5 percent of children have access to books. - Blog // May 6, 2020
eKitabu seeks to transform the production of quality, accessible books in local languages of Africa
Begin With Books prize winner to scale past ACR GCD-funded projects to create 270 accessible books for children in Malawi. - Blog // May 7, 2020
Rochester Institute of Technology to create first local sign language books for children in low-resource regions of Asia, Pacific and Somalia
Begin With Books prize winner will build on platform created through ACR GCD’s Sign On For Literacy prize to create 1,200+ sign language storybooks.