Pune’s Armene Modi awarded Albert Schweitzer medal by World Literacy Foundation

Armene Modi, the founder of Pune based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Ashta No Kai, was awarded the Albert Schweitzer award by the world literacy foundation,

Armene Modi, the founder of Pune based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Ashta No Kai, was awarded the Albert Schweitzer award by the world literacy foundation, U.K (WLF) in an online ceremony for her “academic excellence and extensive service in education and literacy.” This online ceremony was held on April 18, 2020.

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Ashta No Kai, the non-profit organisation has been educating and empowering rural women and girls in ten villages of Shirur taluka of Pune district since 1998. The award citation noted that, “Armene’s exceptional efforts towards empowering rural women in India has helped to improve the educational outcomes of hundreds of adolescent girls over the last two decades.”

The award named after Albert Schweitzer, the famous Austrian, is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contribution to literature through their intellectual work in both writing and research. Armene said, “Issues of poverty and illiteracy are not the problems of just the poor and marginalised alone, but universal issues that concern us all.”

In an online message, Andrew Kay, chief executive officer of WLF said the award aimed to celebrate the valuable contribution of Armene Modi to education in India over the past 22 years.

The WLF strives to ensure that every young individual has the opportunity to acquire literacy and reading skills to reach their full potential. This year’s online world literacy summit on April 18 brought together leaders from 85 countries representing over two-thirds of the world’s population.

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