Unesco has awarded Friendship the Confucius Prize for Literacy, acknowledging the organization’s use of digital tools to educate adults and out-of-school children in marginalized regions, empowering them in various aspects of life.
This prestigious award was officially announced by Unesco on Wednesday.
Every year, only three out of the 193 United Nations member states receive the Confucius Prize for Literacy.
In 2023, Friendship, representing Bangladesh, the Republic of Education and Monitoring Division from the Dominican Republic, and the National Self-Advocacy Initiative from Uganda were the distinguished recipients.
Friendship earned this honour for its exceptional efforts in creating digital learning opportunities that enhance the capabilities of climate-vulnerable communities residing in remote and hard-to-reach areas.
Retired Brigadier General Ilyas Iftekhar Rasul, head of Friendship’s Education sector, expressed: “Friendship has a longstanding collaboration with Unesco. Moreover, Friendship is committed to educating marginalized populations in remote, challenging-to-access regions of the country. Through adult education programs, Friendship has made significant contributions to combat student dropout rates.”
He hopes that the Unesco Confucius Award will provide further impetus to their program and underlined that the award’s honorarium would be invested in enhancing the adult literacy initiatives.
It is noteworthy that the government of China, via Unesco, bestows the Confucius Prize upon three institutions or countries annually, with each recipient receiving an honorarium of $30,000.