A shout-out to young people who are aspirational change-makers is wanted in a new youth-led initiative to help address high rates of illiteracy within the community.

The Youth Ambassador role in Columbus (Ohio), provides a young person with a platform to advocate and talk about the falling rates of reading skills and create increased community education and awareness about the vital importance of foundational literacy skills for lifelong benefits.

Nearly 60% of children from low-income backgrounds don’t own a single book and struggle to read. The World Literacy Foundation is seeking nominations for young people aged 15-25 in Columbus (Ohio) to apply to become a local voice for literacy.

Registration for the Youth Ambassador Program is now available. The 4-month youth leadership development initiative will provide training and support, plus connection to 600 other young people around the world.

"Conscious of the impact of illiteracy, we want to train young people around the world to become change-makers in their own country or region. When we help someone to acquire literacy skills, we are empowering them with access to better opportunities in life, and breaking the poverty cycle. We train Young Ambassadors to help us eradicate illiteracy”, said Lorena Torres, Global Coordinator for the Youth Ambassador Program at the World Literacy Foundation.

For Florida, a 17-year-old girl from Nepal, participating in the program was an opportunity to lead, learn, and make a positive impact. "When I heard about the Program, I knew it resonated with my passion for education and presented a means for me to reach out to more children in need worldwide. Since then, I have committed myself to making a meaningful impact through literacy, especially within the humanitarian context, aligning it with my purpose and dedication to creating positive change," she said.

Magret Boman, completed the Youth Ambassador Program in 2022, and for her, it was an incredible journey to her role as a teacher in South Africa. “The experience with the Youth Ambassador Program helped me become not only a better teacher but also someone committed to leveraging my educational background - including a Bachelor's degree, a Postgraduate Certificate in Education, and a Bachelor of Education in Education Management, Law, and Policy - for empowering young learners with literacy knowledge."

About The Youth Ambassadors program and World Literacy Foundation:
The Youth Ambassadors program has its objectives: to develop a group of young people who have a strong sense of global citizenship and give back to their local community. As “change-makers,” the young people will gain an awareness of literacy issues and develop leadership skills.

The World Literacy Foundation is a peak not-for-profit charity striving to eradicate illiteracy by 2040. The Foundation works in 52 countries and reaches 500 million people each year. 770 million people on the globe are illiterate. A further 2 billion people struggle to read a sentence.
The economic and social cost of illiteracy is estimated at USD 1.7 trillion per year.