Editing Literacy (section)

=== Literacy as a human right ===
Unlike medieval times, when reading and writing skills were restricted to a few elites and the clergy, literacy skills are now expected from every member of society.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Benson Mkandwire |first=Sitwe |year=2018 |title=Literacy versus Language: Exploring their Similarities and Differences |journal=Journal of Lexicography and Terminology |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=37–55}}</ref> Literacy is therefore considered a human right, essential for [[lifelong learning]] and social change, as supported by the 1996 Report of the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-First Century and the 1997 Hamburg Declaration: 
{{blockquote|Literacy, broadly conceived as the basic knowledge and skills needed by all in a rapidly changing world, is a fundamental human right. (...) There are millions, the majority of whom are women, who lack opportunities to learn or who have insufficient skills to be able to assert this right. The challenge is to enable them to do so. This will often imply the creation of preconditions for learning through awareness raising and empowerment. Literacy is also a catalyst for participation in social, cultural, political and economic activities, and for learning throughout life.<ref>{{Cite conference |year=1997 |title=Adult education: the Hamburg Declaration; the Agenda for the Future |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000116114 |conference=International Conference on Adult Education, 5th, Hamburg, Germany, 1997 |publisher=UNESCO Institute for Education |page=6 |access-date=2023-09-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 February 2018 |title=Fifth International Conference on Adult Education |url=http://uil.unesco.org/adult-education/confintea/fifth-conference |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224203628/https://uil.unesco.org/adult-education/confintea/fifth-conference |archive-date=24 December 2021 |access-date=29 May 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Belalcázar |first=Carolina |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002343/234325E.pdf |title=Mobile phones and literacy: Empowerment in Women's Hands; A Cross-Case Analysis of Nine Experiences |publisher=UNESCO |year=2015 |isbn=978-9-231-00123-9}}</ref>}}

In 2016, the European Literacy Policy Network (an association of European literacy professionals) published a document entitled the ''European Declaration of the Right to Literacy''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=European literacy policy network (ELINET) |url=http://www.eli-net.eu |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201230113354/https://eli-net.eu/ |archive-date=30 December 2020 |access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref> It states that:
{{blockquote|Everyone in Europe has the right to acquire literacy. EU Member States should ensure that people of all ages, regardless of social class, religion, ethnicity, origin and gender, are provided with the necessary resources and opportunities to develop sufficient and sustainable literacy skills in order to effectively understand and use written communication be in handwritten, in print or digital form.<ref>{{Cite web |year=2016 |title=European Declaration of the Right to Literacy |url=https://elinet.pro/policy-statements/}}</ref>}}