Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez interacting with a Venezuelan woman that learned to write and read thanks to the Bolivarian Revolution back in 2005. File photo.
One of the most significant achievements of the Bolivarian Revolution is undoubtedly the declaration of Venezuela as a territory free of illiteracy on October 28, 2005, by a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) resolution.
In that year, after 1,482,000 Venezuelan adults had learned to read and write in the previous two years, and less than two percent of the population was illiterate, Venezuela was declared a “Territory Free of Illiteracy.” This milestone marked the country’s history, becoming one of the many achievements of Commander Hugo Chávez’s government that is still being continued by President Nicolás Maduro.
Koichiro Matsuura, who at that time was the director general of UNESCO, sent a letter to the Venezuelan government when the country was declared free of illiteracy, in which he stated:
“Today, October 28, 2005, marks a successful milestone for Venezuela in its efforts to create a literate society. By declaring Venezuela a ‘Territory Free of Illiteracy,’ the country is making its most significant contribution to our common march toward Education for All, or EFA. The achievements of Mission Robinson would not have been possible without the political will and support at the highest level, and for this, President Hugo Chávez deserves full recognition.
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The method
The Cuban people contributed to this milestone with its “Yes, I can” system, created by Leonela Realy, which combines numerical and language data to facilitate learning. This method was adopted in Venezuela to provide an opportunity to the population that had been historically excluded from education. In addition, the training program was implemented in every area of Venezuela and was developed on the fundamental basis of teaching everyone who needed to read and write.
Commander Hugo Chávez pledged his presidential promise and worked in favor of the majority forgotten by previous governments, one of the first victories that opened a long process of achievements for mass education and inclusion. Under the Bolivarian premise of the people marching at the same pace as their education, these achievements lead us to become one of the countries in the world with the highest educational enrollment.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
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