New Delhi, Sep 8 (IANS): Scholastic India, the countrys wing of the the global childrens publishing, educational and media company, is celebrating International Literacy Day to promote literacy as an instrument to empower individuals, communities and societies.

As a part of this initiative, the publishing house has tied up with a number of online and offline platforms to spread the joy of reading. As a result of one such partnership, popular parenting website "MyCity4Kids" will encourage parents to write about why reading is important. Similarly, "The Reading Raccoons," the popular Facebook reading group for parents is inviting parents to post a picture of their children reading.

Scholastic has also associated with "Books On The Delhi Metro," a group of reading enthusiasts who drop books inside the Delhi metro for commuters to read and pass on. They will drop bestselling Scholastic books inside the Metro on September 8. On Twitter, the Scholastic India handle will donate to a foundation, "The Community Library Project" the total number of books equal to the number of retweets of its International Literacy Day message.

"Access to books, and reading books of their choice every day, helps children grow into readers. This in turn can transform a child's prospects for success. For International Literacy Day, we have tried to capture these aspects through various activities, hoping to encourage parents to participate in the process," Neeraj Jain, Managing Director, Scholastic India said.

Fifty one years ago, September 8 was officially proclaimed as International Literacy Day by UNESCO aimed at mobilising the international community to promote literacy as an instrument to empower individuals, communities and societies.