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
ACR GCD – Children With Disabilities Info Sheet
A brief overview of ACR GCD's projects, research and partnerships focused on improving literacy outcomes for children with disabilities in developing countries.Guidelines For Accessible eBooks: EPUB Accessibility
Learn from Benetech about key accessibility guidelines and tools for creating born-accessible ebooks and content for children with disabilities.Leaders for Literacy User Guides
Instructions for implementing the Leaders for Literacy curriculum online or offline.Leaders for Literacy Introduction
Leaders for Literacy takes a game-based learning platform and uses it to improve child literacy by leveraging youth as social innovators.Leaders for Literacy Explainer
Learn more about the impact of two Leaders for Literacy projects implemented in South Africa.
Leaders for Literacy
Latest Updates
- Blog // April 28, 2020
eKitabu’s signed Digital Story Time included in Kenya Ministry of Education’s distance learning program
Daily TV and virtual broadcast of sign language stories funded by ACR GCD open opportunities for all children, including those who are deaf, to learn during the COVID-19 crisis. - Blog // July 28, 2020
ACR GCD awardee SIL LEAD spurs multi-organization effort to create COVID-themed children’s books in 166 languages using Bloom software
Additional COVID-19 themed books created through ACR GCD’s Begin With Books prize to arrive on Global Digital Library and Bloom Library in September. - Blog // August 27, 2020
Three ways you can support the development and use of accessible books for children with disabilities
Free tools for use by publishers, Ministries of Education, and education implementers support inclusive education that benefits all children.