A BASE Economics student from Bengaluru has been selected as India’s representative for the Youth Ambassador Program 2026
The Youth Ambassador Program is one of the largest youth-led literacy campaigns organized by the World Literacy Foundation in Australia. | Photo credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN
Asmit Singh, a student of the University of Economics Dr. BR Ambedkar School of Economics (BASE-U), has been appointed as the 2026 Youth Literacy Ambassador for India.
The Youth Ambassador Program is one of the largest youth-led literacy campaigns organized by the World Literacy Foundation (WLF) in Australia. It aims to empower young people aged 16 to 25 to advocate for literacy in their own communities.
According to the WLF, 770 million people worldwide cannot read a single word and another two billion struggle to read a sentence. In low-income households, 72% of children struggle to read, contributing to long-term social and economic disadvantage. This is where young ambassadors like Singh will play an important role in helping children develop reading skills.
Speaking to The Hindu, Singh said, “It’s a proud moment for me as I will be joining 900 other youth leaders from 101 countries. Over the next three months, I will be working in a cohort with other youth ambassadors during online sessions. As soon as I came to know about this programme, I applied for it and was selected after various rounds of interviews.”
He believes the lessons learned in this program will help him tackle India’s growing reading crisis. “The online meetings started on June 8 and I am able to learn and understand the reasons for low literacy or reading skills in people in other countries as well,” he added.
Singh, who is in his second year of a bachelor’s degree in economics, highlighted the lack of availability of books and increased screen time in the low-income community. “Too many children are missing out on the joy of reading simply because they don’t have books at home. I want to help change that and show young people that reading can open doors to the world. Also, screens are taking over reading time, so that needs to be changed by adding a few hours of reading to their routine,” he said.
In the next three months, Singh will also organize programs to promote early reading, access to books and community engagement activities, especially for children.
He said, “Once I complete the program successfully, I will submit a detailed report to WLF about the reading activities carried out in India. After three months, an event will be held at one of the international universities where all youth ambassadors will come on a single platform to share our experiences.”
Published – 11 Jun 2026 21:05 IST