UNESCO International Literacy Prizes 2018, France

Literacy and Skills Development

Since 1967, UNESCO International Literacy Prizes have rewarded excellence and innovation in the field of literacy. Over 485 projects and programmes are undertaken by governments, non-governmental organizations and individuals around the world have been recognized. Through these prestigious Prizes, UNESCO seeks to support effective literacy practices and encourages the promotion of dynamic literate societies.

Currently, there are two UNESCO International Literacy Prizes:

• The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize (2 awards)

Established in 1989, with the support of the Government of the Republic of Korea. It gives special consideration to the development and use of mother-tongue literacy education and training.

• The UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy (3 awards)

The UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy, established in 2005, with the support of the Government of the People’s Republic of China. It gives special consideration to literacy amongst adults in rural areas and out-of-school youth, particularly girls and women.

Each of the five prizewinners receives a medal, a diploma and US$20.000. The UNESCO International Literacy Prizes are awarded in an official ceremony on the occasion of the International Literacy Day (8 September).

Application and nomination process for the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes

Applicants will be asked to make submissions related to the 2018 theme ‘Literacy and Skills Development’ and take into consideration the specific focuses of the two prizes when applying.

The Member States and International Non-Governmental Organizations which maintain official relations with UNESCO are invited to solicit and submit nominations for the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes. The application process consists of two stages, an application, and a nomination.

Who is eligible to apply?

• Institutions, organizations, and individuals promoting literacy through effective and innovative projects or programmes.
• Eligible programmes or projects who have a proven record of innovative work in the field of literacy for at least three years.
• Programmes/projects that have not been awarded the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes in the past five years.

How to submit the applications and nominations - two stages  

The first stage is for an applicant to fill in and submit an application form through either a National Commission for UNESCO or an International Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) maintaining official relations with UNESCO.

The second stage is for the concerned National Commission or international NGO to review and nominate the successful candidatures to the Secretariat of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes. 

For applicants - Application

• To begin with, the applicant needs to request the creation of a user account through this link: www.unesco.org/ilp/account. Once the account is created, the applicant will receive an automatic notification with access instructions.
   
• The applicant needs to complete the online form (in English or in French), specifying, in particular, the submission channel (either a government via the National Commission for UNESCO, or an International Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) maintaining official relations with UNESCO). The applicant can attach relevant supporting materials (e.g. reports, publications) of less than 100 pages in total.
   
• The applicant who opts for the government channel will then send the submission form with supporting materials to the appropriate National Commission (by ticking the box ‘Submit the application form to National Commission and saving the form) by 5 June 2018 (midnight, Paris time).
   
• The applicant who opts to apply through an international NGO maintaining official relations with UNESCO, needs to obtain a nomination letter from the NGO in question that recommends them for the Prizes. This nomination letter must be attached to the submission form by the applicant.
  For this purpose, please identify an International NGO in official relations with UNESCO which is active in the related fields, notably literacy and send your application with supporting documents to that NGO. The applicant should then submit the electronic application form with the written nomination letter and supporting materials to UNESCO (by checking the box ‘Submit the application form to UNESCO” and clicking on “Save” at the bottom) by 17 June 2018 (midnight, Paris time).
   
• If applicants have difficulties reaching an appropriate nominating entity, they should contact the Secretariat of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes for further guidance.
   
• Please note that self-nominations will not be taken into consideration, and that any submission form missing a written recommendation issued by a Government of a Member State through the National Commission for UNESCO (directly in the form), or an International NGO which maintains official relations with UNESCO (a nomination letter in attachment), will not be accepted by the Secretariat of the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes.

For Governments (National Commissions for UNESCO) and International NGOs - Nominations

1. The relevant National Commission will receive a notification every time an application form is submitted to them for their nomination. The notification will contain a link to the online form, which will be accessible through the e-mail address associated with its generic UNESCO account.

• To access the nomination form, the National Commission should use its generic UNESCO account as follows:

1. Go to the link provided in the notification.
2. Select user profile: National Commission for UNESCO.
3. Enter the login preceded by ‘dmz\’, example: dmz\natcom_fr.
4. Enter the password associated with the login, example: U2014@mz(link sends e-mail).

• The National Commission reviews the forms received and nominates up to three submissions for the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy, and up to two submissions for the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize.

• To nominate a candidate, the National Commission should edit the form by entering a written recommendation in the appropriate fields, in English or French, and cover the following:

• A description of the nominee’s background and achievements;
• A summary of the work or the results of the work, publications and other supporting documents of major importance, submitted for consideration;  
• A succinct evaluation of the nominee’s contribution to the Prize’s objectives.

It should then check the box ‘Submit a nomination to UNESCO’ and click on the button ‘Save’ at the bottom of the page. The applicant will then be informed of the nomination.

2. An NGO which maintains an official relation with UNESCO, if solicited by a candidate and wishing to submit the nomination, should provide the applicant with a nomination letter to be attached by the applicant to the application form.

   Kindly send the recommendations to the concerned applicants via e-mail or mail before 18 June 2018 (midnight, Paris time).  

Selection process

All the eligible nominated applications submitted to UNESCO will be examined by an International Jury, composed of distinguished experts appointed by UNESCO’s Director-General, which meets in Paris once a year. Based on its recommendations, the Director-General of UNESCO makes a final decision about the Prizewinners of 2018. The Prizes are awarded every year at an official ceremony on the International Literacy Day (8 September).

Selection criteria 

Relevance to the themes

The programme/project is pertinent to the areas focused by the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes and the specific theme of this year.

Relevance to individuals and societal needs and robustness

The programme/project is relevant to the individual and societal needs in a given context.The programme/project is robust and effective in its design, delivery, structure, management, monitoring and evaluation.

Quality of teaching and learning

The quality of teaching and learning involves interrelated dimensions such as the effectiveness, the efficiency, the equality, the relevance and the pertinence .

Impact

The ‘impact’ relates to both positive and negative changes made by a programme/project, to beneficiaries, communities and broader societies. Changes include both intended and unintended ones demonstrated by qualitative and/or quantitative evidence.

Innovative features

The Innovative features are concerned with new/original ideas, solutions, approaches, methods, devices, and perspectives or new ways of adapting traditional ones which can add value and make a concrete impact.

Sustainability

Sustainability is regarding lasting benefits and impacts of a programme/project beyond the lifecycle of the current programme/project.This may involve the concrete activities of a programme/project designed to ensure sustainability of its results and impacts, the contributions to enriching literate environments in which learners can acquire, use, sustain, and advance literacy skills and the availability of future plan.

In addition to these criteria, the project/programme should:

• be ongoing and proven record of innovative work in the field of literacy for at least three years.
• have not been awarded the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes in the past five years.
• promote literacy through effective and innovative projects or programmes.

For more information click "LINK TO ORIGINAL" below.

This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:

https://en.unesco.org/themes/literacy/prizes#utm_source=ARMACAD.info&utm_medium=ARMACAD.info