Mexico has reached a national literacy rate of 96 per cent, UNESCO reported on October 5, while Indigenous-language speakers, migrants and disadvantaged communities still face barriers.
Near Puebla City, Mirta Isabel Figueroa's Aprender enseñando initiative used its 2020 UNESCO literacy prize funds to build a community center in Barranca Honda, where children, teenagers and adults can learn.
Figueroa also organizes university students to volunteer as literacy tutors. UNESCO describes another initiative, led by Roxana Fabris, that brings classes to construction sites, and says Mexico's adult-education institute has language materials covering around 100 of the country's 364 Indigenous-language variants across 18 states.
UNESCO notes that the remaining four per cent still includes thousands of people without basic literacy skills. The programs show practical ways communities are extending learning, while making clear that the work is not finished.
