Three educational programs for out-of-school children, prisoners and former nomads won this year's UNESCO Confucius Prize for Literacy in Qufu, east China's Shandong Province, on Sept 26.

The programs came from Madagascar, Chile and Slovakia, UNESCO official David Atchoarena announced at the opening ceremony of China Qufu International Confucius Cultural Festival.

The program by Madagascar's Platform of Associations in Charge of ASAMA and Post-ASAMA is to help out-of-school young people resume studies. The program by Juan Luis Vives School of Valparaiso in Chile is to teach adult prisoners. And the one by the Association Svatobor in Slovakia is to provide education and skill training to disadvantaged Roma people.

The Confucius Prize for Literacy was established in 2005 to recognize efforts of individuals, governments and NGOs in raising literacy.

Twenty-seven people and organizations have received this prize, the first international prize named after a Chinese, according to Zhou Jiagui, vice secretary general of the National Commission of the People's Republic of China for UNESCO.

Confucius was born in 551 BC in Qufu. His theories of benevolence and courtesy have been a dominant ideology in China for more than 2,000 years.

Source: xinhuanet.com