OISE faculty member, Emmanuelle Le Pichon-Vorstman, co-wins UNESCO International Literacy Prize

An initiative by a Netherlands-based NGO, co-founded by Associate Professor Emmanuelle Le Pichon-Vorstman, is one of six winners of the UNESCO International Literacy Prize for 2026.

The award, which awards projects for their exceptional contributions to advancing literacy across the globe, has recognized the Language Friendly School program, an initiative founded by the Rutu Foundation for Intercultural Multilingual Education. Since 1967, UNESCO's International Literacy Prizes have rewarded more than 600 individuals, organizations and institutions worldwide.

Le Pichon-Vorstman co-founded the Language Friendly School with Dr. Ellen-Rose Kambel, Rutu’s executive director (who is based in Amsterdam). They each received the award at a ceremony held in the central public square of San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico on Sept. 8 – International Literacy Day.

“What makes this recognition so meaningful is that it belongs to all of those educators, school leaders, families, and children who have helped shape the movement,” said Le Pichon-Vorstman, an Associate Professor of Educational Linguistics in OISE’s Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning (CTL). “It validates the idea that linguistic diversity is not a problem to be solved, but a resource to be nurtured. At a time when many educational systems are struggling with literacy outcomes, this award sends a powerful message: children learn best when their languages, identities, and cultures are recognized as assets.” 

Established in 2019, the program promotes multilingual literacy by supporting schools by using students’ home languages alongside the language of instruction. It currently operates in around 70 schools and over 30 childcare centres across 13 countries – and has reached more than 32,000 students through teacher training, school certification, and community engagement. The programme aims to create more inclusive learning environments, improve educational outcomes, and reduce inequalities through multilingual education.

For Kambel and Le Pichon-Vorstman, this recognition is both deeply moving and profoundly humbling. 

“The idea behind Language Friendly Schools emerged from years of visiting schools around the world and speaking with extraordinary educators who were doing remarkable work, often with limited resources,” Le Pichon-Vorstman said. “We kept asking ourselves a simple question: What can we do to support them? The network began with just three schools, two in the Netherlands and one in Canada, that believed in our vision and were willing to embark on this journey with us.” 

Le Pichon-Vorstman is also the director of the OISE-based Franco-Ontarian Educational Research Centre (CREFO), an interdisciplinary research centre that critically examines the educational, social, and linguistic practices of the Francophonie in Ontario, Canada, and around the world. 

For her, the UNESCO award affirms her research, and CREFO’s, in indelible ways.

“At CREFO, we believe deeply in the power of diversity and in the power of languages,” says. “Our work is grounded in the conviction that linguistic and cultural diversity enriches education and society as a whole.

The recognition is particularly encouraging because it highlights the importance of creating educational environments where students can draw on all of their linguistic and cultural resources, says Le Pichon-Vorstman. “This aligns closely with our research on multilingualism, literacy, inclusion, identity affirmation, and educational equity,” she says. “A key message for policymakers is that investing in linguistic diversity is not a symbolic gesture; it is an educational strategy. 

“Supporting minority languages and multilingual approaches is therefore not only a matter of social justice, but also of educational excellence.”