SAS believes literacy is a basic human right.
The ability to share ideas through reading and writing are the basis for living a full life, maintaining human dignity and ensuring equality for all. International Literacy Day is a great opportunity to celebrate the progress organizations are making toward reading and writing proficiency. Recognizing there is always more work to be done, it’s a great opportunity to keep the conversations ongoing.
And literacy goes beyond just books. Data literacy is the ability to read and analyze data – focused on math and statistics relating to information flow. As the need for data literacy increases in business, government and society, it is increasingly important for students to prepare for a technology-driven workforce. SAS advocates introducing computer science at an earlier age and encouraging interest in STEM classes to close the analytics skills gap.
Relate better to data
Many of us have developed digital skills just by living in a data-driven world. Check out this fast-paced course that follows the journeys of a concerned parent, a small business owner and a public health expert who rely on data to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. It will help you connect your skills to strategies for engaging with data in more meaningful ways.
Literacy education is distributed unevenly across countries and populations.
800 million
people are illiterate in their own languages.
2/3
of illiterate people are women.
Progress is being made around the world, but it is more important than ever to raise awareness about literacy and quality education.
Data literacy in action
In 2015, 193 world leaders signed a global agenda with 17 goals to achieve a more prosperous, peaceful, and sustainable world by 2030. Millions of individuals and organizations are helping to make all these goals a reality.
With our GatherIQ app, you can join a community of citizens curious about exploring these goals through the lens of data. Our free app explores the Global Goals through interactives data stories, quizzes and videos. This is your chance to learn about the world’s most pressing needs, and then find ways to take personal action in your own community.
