Wednesday, September 5, 2012

CII - THE ASIA FOUNDATION LITERACY CAMPAIGN IN SOUTH INDIA



To coincide with International Literacy Day on September 8th, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) has collaborated with The Asia Foundation to provide 15,000 books for distribution to schools and universities in the Southern States of India. 

Under its Books for Asia program, The Asia Foundation will celebrate International Literacy Day in 10 countries this year with a range of literacy-promoting events, from short-story writing competitions to teacher training sessions. It will also provide more than 120,000 books as part of a month-long Storytime in Asia campaign, which will benefit 1,700 schools serving 2 million children across 17 countries.

More than 500 million people in Asia cannot read or write. The Asia Foundation believes in the power of education to transform lives and inspire positive, long-lasting change. With Books for Asia’s donation of nearly one million books a year to libraries across Asia, the program combats educational disadvantages faced by the poor, minorities, and women of the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Pradipta K. Mohapatra, Chairman, CSR Sub-Committee, CII - Southern Region, “The association between The Asia Foundation and CII has been very rewarding for children studying in underprivileged schools in India as well as deeply satisfying for both our organizations.”

According to Nick Langton, The Asia Foundation’s Country Representative in India, “The Books for Asia program is an exceptional opportunity to provide books from American publishers to underprivileged schools in India that otherwise could not afford them. In recent years, the Foundation has donated over 60,000 books to schools and educational institutions in India through a partnership with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).”

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