Key Points
Aditi Paudel is the first person from Japan to be named a World Literacy Foundation ambassador, joining roughly 900 youth delegates from 101 countries.
She intends to partner with the Shanti Volunteer Association to send books to countries with lower literacy rates, including Nepal, where she spent part of her childhood.
Despite Japan's 99%+ literacy rate, studies show about half of Japanese students don't read for pleasure, a trend Paudel and WLF's CEO link partly to smartphones and AI tools offering instant answers.
LONG BEFORE THE TITLE “AMBASSADOR” was attached to her name, 17-year-old high school student Aditi Paudel was simply a girl with a newspaper in her hands, reading out the unfamiliar Devanagari script under her grandfather's guidance. Born in Japan but raised for the first half of her childhood in Nepal, she found in books a constant thread running through a life split between two countries and two languages. Now a high school senior in Tokyo, Paudel has been named Japan’s first literacy ambassador by the World Literacy Foundation — joining a worldwide team of around 900 young delegates aged 16 to 25 from 101 countries, and becoming the very first from her country to hold the title.
The World Literacy Foundation (WLF) is a global non-profit headquartered in Australia that aims to eliminate global illiteracy, advance literacy as a fundamental human right, and empower individuals and communities through accessible education. Via its Ambassador Program, the non-profit aims to empower young leaders to advocate for literacy, raise awareness about illiteracy, and drive change within their communities. WLF Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and founder, Andrew Kay, said that while the ambassador program has been ongoing for over 12 years, Aditi's appointment marks the first time an ambassador has been chosen from Japan.
See also: Reading Homer’s Iliad Feels like Scrolling Through TikTok
Kay notes that Paudel displayed a “remarkable passion for literacy” and a “commitment towards empowering young people in Japan.” This, combined with her leadership skill and her curiosity about the English language made her a standout for this role.
As Japan’s literacy Ambassador, Aditi would lead initiatives aimed at promoting reading habits, supporting marginalized youth, and bridging cultural communities. The high schooler said that she plans to work with disabled children and partner with the Shanti Volunteer Association — an international non-profit that aims to improve educational quality, promote reading culture, and provide emergency disaster relief — to collect and ship books to Asian countries with lower literacy rates, including Nepal, the country where she spent much of her early childhood.
As Japan’s literacy Ambassador, Aditi would lead initiatives aimed at promoting reading habits, supporting marginalized youth, and bridging cultural communities.
Even though Japan has a literacy rate of over 99%, recent studies have pointed towards a declining reading habits among youths. A 2023 research study from the Benesse Educational Research & Development Institute and the University of Tokyo found that around half of Japanese children across elementary, middle, and high school do not read books for pleasure.
WLF CEO Andrew Kay has pointed to a broader decline in leisurely reading among youth, suggesting that the instant answers offered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools may be discouraging young people from searching out information and reflecting on it themselves. Aditi, too, echoed similar concerns, noting the declining popularity of books among the youth, and how mobile phones have snatched young people's attention.
When she was still a preschooler, Aditi would sit at her grandfather's feet and try to read newspapers written in the unfamiliar yet interesting Devanagari script. To everyone’s surprise, a young Aditi worked out the meaning of the text all by herself. And thus began her love for reading and books.
One of the books that made a firm impression upon her is "I Am Malala" by Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai. Paudel remarked that reading the book helped cultivate her interest in female empowerment and the importance of ensuring that women and girls around the globe have access to education and literacy.
In addition to her new responsibility as literacy ambassador, Aditi keeps a busy profile as a high school student and is engaged in a plethora of other initiatives, as listed on her LinkedIn profile. The teenager has been involved in debate and public speaking, hosts a podcast, and also founded an organization focused on building young people's confidence and public-speaking skills through international events — including a recent debate competition that drew more than 75 participants from over 20 countries.
For Paudel, literacy is not merely reading and writing; it's a doorway to opportunities, one she now hopes to hold open for others. As she takes on her new role as Japan’s first Literacy Ambassador, Paudel says she hopes to use her position to make the case that reading remains foundational — not just as a skill, but as a form of access, curiosity, and connection across the languages and cultures she was raised between.
(Edited by Agniva Ray)
Suggested reading:
Subscribe to our channels on YouTube and WhatsApp
Download our app on Play Store