Prabhudesai selected as World Literature Foundation’s Ambassador
Thane’s resident and entrepreneur Vidyadhar Prabhudesai was selected as an Ambassador of World Literature Foundation (WLF), an organization dedicated to lift young people out of poverty through the power of literacy.
It is known that 1 out of 5 people in the world cannot read out write. Low level reading and writing skills cost the global economy around $1 trillion each year. WLF aims to change that through their programs which are currently running across 143 countries.
As an Ambassador, Vidyadhar shall be responsible for scaling the efforts of the organization in India. “People who cannot read or write experience difficulties with simple everyday tasks such as reading the label of a medicine bottle, filling in a job application or understanding a traffic sign.
As WLF ambassador I shall focus on such people and help them to acquire literacy skills. WLF also aims at empowering such people with better opportunities in life and breaking the poverty cycle.”, says Prabhudesai.
Women and girls are often the losers when it comes to worldwide literacy. Even in countries like France, studies show that illiteracy is a much greater disadvantage for women than men.
Many adults are reluctant to admit when they struggle with literacy and, as a result rarely seek help. “Those who live with complete or functional illiteracy are faced with the prospect of poor health outcomes, welfare dependency, a lack of social cohesion, a higher level of crime and lack of self-worth.
Poor literacy also limits a person’s ability to engage in activities that require either critical thinking or a solid base of literacy and numeracy skills. As an ambassador my role will be to work with local authorities to improve the state of literacy in my neighborhood and locality”, adds Vidyadhar.
In the past, Vidyadhar received World Bank’s Prize on Public-Private Partnership model to improve Youth Employability. He currently consults several international institutions on issues such as education, employability, gender equality, entrepreneurship and livelihoods with focus on developing economies.
He represents institutions like World Economic Forum, International Foundation for Sustainable Peace and Development in India. Prabhudesai is also a fellow with UNESCO, Ford Foundation and Royal Society of Arts. He is also an ambassador of Sustainable Development Goals and Institute for Economics and Peace, Australia.