The Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy, has won the United National Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Confucius Prize for literacy for 2022. The announcement was made on 8 September 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, as part of the International Literacy Day celebrations held in the West African city this year. Earlier this year, the South African National Commission for UNESCO aided the Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy in applying for the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy 2022.

The Assistant Director-General for Education at UNESCO, Ms Stefania Giannini said: “It is my pleasure to inform you that the programme School Readiness Initiative Through Community Participation has been selected as the winner of the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy 2022. I wish to extend my congratulations to the Molteno Institute for Language and Literacy in South Africa for this achievement. The Jury greatly appreciated the value of producing literacy resources for preschool children, which are linguistically and culturally relevant and cater to the needs of those living in rural areas. Moreover, it found significant the value-added from direct involvement of parents, which contributes to constructing appropriate play environments and liaising with local schools”.

The CEO of the Molteno Institute, Mr Masennya Dikotla, attended the prize giving ceremony in Abidjan. “Molteno’s core business on the African continent is to ensure children can read for meaning by the time they turn 10 years old or are in Grade 4. We do this through mother tongue based education. Through the programme that won us this year’s prize, the School Readiness Initiative Through Community Participation, we mobilise local communities and parents to use their skills and trades to create natural playgrounds for their Grade R children to enable them to learn through play”.

South Africa’s Ambassador to Côte d’Ivoire, Mr Zolani Mtshotshisa, congratulated the Molteno Institute saying, “I am proud to see an organisation from our country doing great work in education in general, and literacy in particular. This project is important; it focuses on the role of the community in the education of children. We applaud the good work which has attracted the attention of stakeholders on a global level”.

The award of the UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy comprises a silver medal, a diploma and a cheque for US $30,000.