International Literacy Day: A creative conversation with Luís Leal Miranda

Since 1967, International Literacy Day has been celebrated annually on September 8th. This year, the theme of International Literacy Day is “Promoting literacy in the digital era.” 

Literacy is a “fundamental human right” and is “crucial” for “a more just, peaceful, and sustainable society,” says UNESCO. 

Yet, in 2024, according to this organization, 739 million young people and adults worldwide lacked basic literacy skills – that is, they were unable to “read, write, understand, interpret, create, and communicate” effectively. 

Without these skills, citizens’ ability to actively participate in society, as well as to deal with life’s challenges and an increasingly information-rich world, is compromised. 

It is precisely to stimulate the development of literacy and communication skills that enable full civic participation that the UNESCO Chair on Communication, Media and Information Literacy, and Citizenship (ESCS-IPL) works. 

Playing with the word “literacy” to better understand the world 

We invited Luís Leal Miranda, an author known for creating words, to a conversation about the concept of literacy and ways to promote literacy. We also learned new made-up words that reflect the impact of the digital world on our lives. 

Read the interview with the author of the book “Desdicionário da Língua Portuguesa” (“Undictionary of the Portuguese Language”, in a free translation) and the Instagram page Novas Palavras Novas. You can also watch the video on the UNESCO Chair’s LinkedIn page. 

In your own words, what is literacy? 

For me, literacy is being able to deeply understand something. It’s not just knowing roughly what this or that is, but knowing how things work. In the case of reading, it’s not just knowing how to read, it’s knowing how to understand texts. It’s a kind of understanding that goes beyond the superficial. 

There are many types of literacy: media and information literacy, digital literacy, financial literacy, scientific literacy… If you had to come up with a new type, what would it be? 

In the Novas Palavras Novas, I’ve already written over 800 words, and there is one that is very old, which is “leiteracia” (“milkacy” – “leite” means “milk”). “Leiteracia” é about knowing how to analyse the ingredients in a milk carton and the expiration dates.  

Are there others you can think of? 

If we consider the meaning of the word “literacy,” then we can apply it to many things. There must be literacy for everything. Perhaps knowing how to fold clothes, for example, is domestic literacy. 

But of all the literacies that exist, I think the most important is perhaps emotional literacy. From the moment you realize that what you’re feeling is exactly expressed by that word, it will be easier to communicate that feeling and it will be easier for other people to understand. Words help us. 

So, I would say one area we need to invest in is emotional literacy, and I even suggest doing this for adults. 

What makes the world better when people have good literacy skills? 

When we have better literacy skills, we understand others better and we understand ourselves better. This allows us all to communicate better. It makes us less prejudiced, more empathetic, and better able to live our lives, that is, to fulfill our potential.  

Lack of literacy – any kind, but especially the ability to read and understand texts –leads to confusion and ignorance. It can also make the world and people more conflictual. 

Literacy prevents us from being swayed by fake news, rumors, or simply biased information. We analyze things more critically. We observe more carefully and are not so quick to jump to conclusions. 

Therefore, I think a world with more literacy would be a world with more clarity, and a world with more clarity would be a world with more peace. 

What public policies could be implemented to promote literacy? 

The first thing that comes to mind is that people need to read more. And for people to read more, they need to have easier access to reading materials. So, if we want to throw out a slightly more radical idea, perhaps it would be good to have libraries open 24 hours a day, with comfortable chairs and sofas, and a well-equipped cafeteria where people could hang out and stay. It could be a way to make libraries a place to stop by.  

I would also like tourists to come to Lisbon and want to visit the library because it was so good and so incredible. Everyone would talk about it. We could use libraries as tourist attractions.  

What can each person do to encourage literacy in their square kilometer? 

One of the most effective ways we can promote literacy around us is by recommending cool books and things we enjoy to our friends and family. Our enthusiasm will get people excited too. That’s what I like to have done for me. 

Another idea, which isn’t exactly revolutionary: if you’re not enjoying the book, don’t force yourself to read it. You can put it down, no one will judge you. [laughs] Don’t judge people who leave books half-read. I have a friend who loves to read, but rarely finished books. She would say, “I didn’t need to know the ending, I got what I needed from that book.” I understand that logic and sometimes I do the same thing.  

Finally, can you give examples of words you have invented that relate to the theme of communication in the digital age?  

“Scrollapsar” (“scrollapse”) is when you pick up your phone to check the time and end up watching a video of someone cutting soap.  

“Neurochacha” ou “Neurochachada” (“neurorubbish”). It’s the content on social media that we don’t even know why we’re looking at, but which is mind-numbing and only causes numbness. 

“Appneia” (“appnea”) is the existential pause caused by prolonged immersion in mobile applications.  

“Velocidade hiper-cínica” (“hyper-cynical speed”) refers to news, scandals, and trends that circulate so quickly that they lose their value. Everything is consumed with indifference, sarcasm, and irony.  

“Epistolofobia digital” (“digital epistlephobia”). This is the fear of receiving and sending emails.  

“Infotrofia” (“infotrophy”), which is the degenerative condition of critical thinking caused by constant exposure to information selected by algorithms tailored to our biases. 

Infotrophy is real, concluded Luís Leal Miranda.