UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy celebrates innovative approaches to advancing literacy in Qufu

The awarding ceremony of the 21st UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy China and the 2026 International Confucius Cultural Festival were held on 28 September in Qufu, Shandong Province, bringing together education stakeholders to celebrate innovative efforts to advance literacy and education equity.

Wang Jiayi, Vice Minister of Education of China, attended the opening ceremony and presented the awards to representatives of the three 2026 laureates. In his remarks, Vice Minister Wang highlighted China’s commitment to prioritizing education and to strengthening international cooperation in education. He expressed China’s willingness to further deepen cooperation with UNESCO and countries around the world to advance education and contribute to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

The 2026 UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy recognized three programmes from Lebanon, Mexico and Thailand for their contributions to expanding literacy opportunities and reaching learners facing barriers to education.

In Lebanon, the Alsama Project’s “Accelerated Education for Out-of-school Displaced Youth” provides accelerated education pathways for displaced and out-of-school young people with limited or no literacy skills. Combining face-to-face teaching with digital learning, the programme integrates literacy, numeracy, language and life skills, while enabling learners to progress through an accelerated education pathway.

In Mexico, the “Chiapas Puede” State Literacy Programme provides bilingual and culturally responsive literacy opportunities, with a particular focus on historically marginalized communities, including Indigenous populations. The programme mobilizes educators, volunteers and community learning groups to expand access to literacy across the state.

In Thailand, Hat Yai City Municipality’s “Language for Life: Multilingual Literacy for Disaster Communication and Community Resilience in Hat Yai Learning City” connects multilingual literacy with practical community needs. The initiative uses Thai, English, Malay and Chinese to strengthen communication, learning and community resilience, including in the context of disaster preparedness and response.

Together, the three laureates demonstrate how literacy initiatives can respond to diverse challenges, including displacement, linguistic diversity, social inequality and community resilience. They also illustrate the importance of connecting literacy with people’s everyday lives, participation and lifelong learning.

Established in 2005 with the support of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy recognizes outstanding contributions to literacy, including functional literacy and the use of technology to support adults in rural areas and out-of-school youth. Each of the three laureates receives a medal, diploma and US$30,000.

The presentation of the 2026 Prize in Qufu also highlights the continued international cooperation around literacy and the importance of sharing effective approaches across countries and communities. As UNESCO marks the 60th anniversary of International Literacy Day in 2026, the laureates offer practical examples of how literacy initiatives can respond to displacement, linguistic diversity, social inequality and community resilience.

Through the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy, innovative practices from different parts of the world are brought to international attention, contributing to collective efforts to advance literacy and lifelong learning opportunities for all.