Worldreader wins Library of Congress Literacy Award – International Prize

The Library of Congress (LOC) announced today that Worldreader won the 2023 Literacy Award in recognition of our work in getting children reading.

On September 8, 2023, International Literacy Day, the LOC Awards Program awarded three organizations for their outstanding contribution to expanding literacy and promoting reading. The Program honors nonprofit organizations in three major prize categories – the David M. Rubenstein Prize, the American Prize, and the International Prize. The Program recognized 15 additional organizations for their implementation of successful practices in literacy promotion.

International nonprofit Worldreader, which supports readers in over 100 countries, has been awarded the International Prize, reserved for organizations based either inside or outside the United States for their significant and measurable contribution to increasing literacy levels internationally.

“We’re thrilled and honored to receive this prestigious award from one of the world’s leading cultural and literacy organizations,” said Rebecca Chandler Leege, CEO of Worldreader. “From communities in the Peruvian Andes to Indian classrooms and homes across Africa, it takes a village to get a child reading. We want to thank the partners, supporters, parents, caregivers, and educators who day in and out are striving to get more children reading across the world.”

The Program’s selection criteria include innovation, sustainability, replicability, evidence-based solutions, and measurable outcomes. Worldreader has provided reading opportunities to children in under-resourced communities for more than 12 years and supported over 22 million readers across the world. Our complete digital reading experience BookSmart is available anytime, anywhere, at the touch of a finger to improve children’s reading comprehension, help them learn valuable social-emotional skills, and become more digitally literate. Because reading early and often improves a child’s chance at a happy, fulfilled life, our reader data is continuously monitored and assessed to evaluate reading behavior and content indicators such as number of readers, time spent reading, and number of books or learning activities completed.

Worldreader’s community-based programs have been replicated and scaled in different geographies following our unique ABCDE model and Theory of Change to achieve long-term impact in three key areas of a child’s life – educational outcomes, emotional intelligence, and earning potential.

Worldreader will be awarded $50,000 through the LOC Literacy Awards Program, which will be used to empower children aged 3-12 and their families to have equitable access to reading, improve their daily reading habits, and build a better world through reading.

Learn more about the award and previous winners, and find the LOC Literacy Award interactive Program map here : https://www.loc.gov/programs/library-of-congress-literacy-awards/about-this-program/

About Worldreader:

Worldreader gets children reading so they can reach their potential. Having pioneered digital reading in the Global South since 2010, the international nonprofit has supported the literacy needs of over 22 million readers through mobile reading technology and distributed over 77 million digital books. Worldreader achieves impact with BookSmart, a complete reading experience that improves reading comprehension, social-emotional, and digital literacy skills for children ages 3-12 years old. Since 2010, Worldreader has supported readers in over 100 countries.

Learn more about our work: https://www.worldreader.org

About the Library of Congress Literacy Awards:

The Library of Congress Literacy Awards are intended to draw public attention to the importance of literacy, and the need to promote literacy and encourage reading. Through the generosity of David M. Rubenstein, the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program honors organizations that have made outstanding contributions to increasing literacy in the United States or abroad. The awards also encourage the continuing development of innovative methods for combating illiteracy and the wide dissemination of the most effective practices. Since 2013, the Library of Congress Literacy Awards Program has awarded more than $3 million in prizes to more than 150 institutions in 38 countries.