In 2018 there was a new Flagship award:
Schweitzer Medallist and Lecturer
The 2018 Schweitzer Medallist and Lecturer is Melissa Villa. Melissa is the founder and Executive Director of Literacy NGO Project Pearls. Her work is based in the Philippines and has a wide reach amongst poor and underprivileged children. Melissa is also an academic and has a Master’s Degree and wide experience in the academic world.
The Schweitzer Medal and Lectureship commemorates the Philanthropists Academic Albert Schweitzer who devoted the greater part of his life to providing medical and educational service in remote parts of Africa in the early 20th Century. Sweitzer was famed for his money raising activities as a concert organist and would spend part of each year on tour in Europe and United States to raise funds for his African Charity.
He also lobbied for recognition for underprivileged people in Africa and was a strong believer in World Peace. In the 1930’s he made two significant lectures in Oxford. One in 1929 and the second in 1932. These were both held in the Arlosh Hall at Manchester College Oxford University. In the tradition of these lectures and to commemorate Schweitzer, the winner of the Albert Schweitzer Medal and Lectureship will deliver a lecture at the Arlosh Hall as part of the 2020 World Literacy Summit.
This 2020 Schweitzer Lecture will be open not only to Summit Delegates but also Oxford University students. The Albert Medal and Lectureship is an endowed award and was jointly sponsored by World Literacy Council and Manchester College Oxford. The Award includes a prize of £1,000.
Other Award Winners
- The WLC Award for significant contribution to literacy by a Nation – Won by El Salvador and presented to their Minister of Education
- The WLC Award for significant contribution to literacy by an Individual – Won by Annette Mpuga
- The WLC Award for significant contribution to literacy by an NGO or Charity – Won by “We Love Reading” and its Founder Rana Dajani
Click here for further information on the World Literacy Council 2018 Award Winners.
