KISS Wins Prestigious UNESCO Literacy Prize 2022 for Mother Tongue-Based Learning

Kalinga Institute of alinga Social Sciences (KISS), Bhubaneswar has won the prestigious UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize 2022 for its outstanding literacy programme based on the recommendations of an international jury.

The UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize is sponsored by the Government of the Republic of Korea and recognizes contributions to mother languagebased literacy development. KISS has received the award in the category of 'Mother Tongue Based Multilingual Education programme'. The award carries an endowment of US$ 20,000, a medal and a diploma.

KISS is a constituent of the KIIT Group of Institutions. The award was presented at a global award ceremony organised by UNESCO in Côte d'Ivoire on 8 and 9 September 2022 to celebrate International Literacy Day. The programme aims to tackle the challenges of poor retention of indigenous students in elementary schools due to classroom language barriers and teachers' incapacity to deal with multilingual and multicultural classrooms effectively. Every year, the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes focus on a specific theme.

This year, the spotlight was on Transforming Literacy Learning Spaces. KISS is the fifth institute from India and the first from Odisha to receive this international prize.