When is World Computer Literacy Day?
December 2nd is World Computer Literacy Day.
What is World Computer Literacy Day?
The age of computers is here. We carry them in our pockets, and we drive them to work. At least, some of us do. The scarcity of internet access and a computer literate workforce is a barrier to development for many countries around the world. World Computer Literacy Day promotes access to computers for developing countries.
As technology advances, the global village grows closer. We can talk in real time to people across the world. In fact, a human in the U.S. can talk to a robot flying over the Indian Ocean in real time. (This is the part where your mind re-explodes.)
Computers are complex though, and not everyone has access to education in information and communications technologies.
Call it the Digital Divide. It separates much of Africa, South America, and Southern Asia from more technologically advanced regions of the world, and it stifles their economic development. World Computer Literacy Day advocates for global computer literacy, which is the comprehension of how computers work, how to program them, and how to use them to build society.
Fun facts about World Computer Literacy Day!
- Nobody was computer literate before World War II. Programmable computers first appeared in the late 1930s.
- Digital literacy promotes entrepreneurship.
- Internet users made up 55% of the world population as of June 2018.
- Asia carries 55% of the world’s population, but only 49% use the internet. For comparison, North America has 4.8% of the global population, and 95% use the internet.
How to celebrate World Computer Literacy Day:
- Support organizations that contribute to computer literacy in developing countries.
- Teach your kids how computers work. If you introduce them to programming early, they will have a digital literacy advantage throughout their lives.
What’s the hashtag for World Computer Literacy Day?
Use #ComputerLiteracyDay on social media to promote worldwide digital access.