Media.Monks and The World Literacy Foundation Unveil "The Literacy Pen," Designed to Combat the Global Illiteracy Crisis

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Apr 12, 2024, 09:40 ET

NEW YORK, April 12, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- S4Capital's operating brand Media.Monks, a digital-first marketing and advertising services company, has partnered with The World Literacy Foundation, a global non-profit organization that provides access to literacy education, to launch an innovative learning tool: The Literacy Pen.

According to UNESCO, there are still 773 million illiterate adults worldwide. In response, The World Literacy Foundation and Media.Monks collaborated on developing an innovative, accessible tool that simplifies the learning process to tackle the global illiteracy crisis.

Designed by Media.Monks and The World Literacy Foundation, The Literacy Pen is a thumb-sized device which can be attached to any standard pen with a light, ergonomic design to promote accessibility.

The Literacy Pen is a thumb-sized device which can be attached to any standard pen with a light, ergonomic design to promote accessibility. Users vocalize the words they would like to write into a built-in microphone, and through voice dictation technology, the device transcribes the word on its digital display, letter by letter. From there, users can copy the words directly onto paper. The Literacy Pen promotes sustainable and independent learning through written repetition and visual reinforcement, allowing illiterate people to start writing and learn to read instantly.

The World Literacy Foundation aims to manufacture 2,000 Literacy Pens for distribution to 50 schools by 2025.

"With The Literacy Pen we are not simply providing a tool; we are offering a lifeline to those fighting illiteracy, empowering them with the skills they need for a better tomorrow," says Vanessa Portilla, COO of The World Literacy Foundation.

"The Literacy Pen holds the potential to impact millions of people who are limited in their daily lives because they don't know how to read or write. We applied basic technology in an innovative way to develop The Literacy Pen, and we hope that this tool will inspire independent learning and open doors to new opportunities for its users," says Jouke Vuurmans, Chief Creative Officer at Media.Monks.

About Media.Monks
Media.Monks is the global, purely digital, unitary operating brand of S4Capital plc. Since 2021, Media.Monks has combined diverse solutions—media, data, social, platforms, studio, experience, brand and technology services—to serve as a consultative partner integrating systems and workflows that deliver unfettered content production, scaled experiences and data science fueled by AI and the industry's very best talent and teams.

Media.Monks was named a Contender in The Forrester Wave™: Global Marketing Services. It has earned a constant presence on Adweek's Fastest Growing lists (2019-23), ranks among Cannes Lions' Top 10 Creative Companies (2022-23), and earns continual inclusion in AdExchanger's Programmatic Power Players (2020-23). It has also been named Adweek's first AI Agency of the Year (2023). Business Intelligence has recognized Media.Monks in its 2024 Excellence in Artificial Intelligence Awards program in three categories: the Individual category, Organizational Winner in AI Strategic Planning, and AI Product for its service Monks.Flow. Media.Monks has earned the title of Webby Production Company of the Year (2021-23), won a record number of FWAs, and a spot on Newsweek's Top 100 Global Most Loved Workplaces 2023.

About S4Capital
S4Capital plc (SFOR.L) is the tech-led, new age/new era digital advertising, marketing and technology services company, established by Sir Martin Sorrell in May 2018.

Our strategy is to build a purely digital advertising and marketing services business for global, multinational, regional, and local clients, and millennial-driven influencer brands. This will be achieved by integrating leading businesses in three practices: Content, Data&Digital Media and Technology Services, along with an emphasis on 'faster, better, cheaper, more' execution in an always-on consumer-led environment, with a unitary structure.

The S4Capital Board includes Rupert Faure Walker, Paul Roy, Daniel Pinto, Sue Prevezer, Elizabeth Buchanan, Naoko Okumoto, Margaret Ma Connolly, Miles Young and Colin Day as Non-Executive Directors.

The Company now has approximately 7,700 people in 32 countries with approximately 80% of net revenue across the Americas, 15% across Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 5% across Asia-Pacific. The longer-term objective is a geographic split of 60%:20%:20%. Content currently accounts for approximately 60% of net revenue, Data&Digital Media 25% and Technology Services 15%. The long-term objective for the practices is a split of 50%:25%:25%.

Sir Martin was CEO of WPP for 33 years, building it from a £1 million 'shell' company in 1985 into the world's largest advertising and marketing services company, with a market capitalisation of over £16 billion on the day he left. Prior to that Sir Martin was Group Financial Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Company Plc for nine years.

Media Contact:
Sarah Murray, 402-658-9341
[email protected]

SOURCE Media.Monks