Aditi Paudel Becomes Japan's 1st Literacy Ambassador at 17

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Wednesday, 2 September 2026

Aditi Paudel, 17, has been named as Japan’s first literacy ambassador, under an international program run by the World Literacy Foundation, as reported by The Japan Times, inspiring young people to embrace reading and education.

Currently, Aditi who is in her last year of high school in Tokyo, is utilizing her enthusiasm to promote more literacy awareness among youth. Born in Japan and having spent her childhood years in Nepal, Aditi grew up with a special love for reading and written language. After experiencing the power of reading, Aditi feels that literacy is a broad term and acts as a foundation helping individuals to learn and open new avenues of opportunities for themselves. Literacy to her is “something that helps you open doors for more opportunities.”

Key Highlights:

• Aditi Paudel becomes Japan’s first literacy ambassador at 17
• She champions reading, education, and literacy among young people
• Aditi promotes women’s education and plans to donate books across Asia

According to Andrew Kay, the CEO and founder of the World Literacy Foundation, Aditi was selected due to her leadership qualities, passion for literacy and empowerment of youth in Japan. In addition, he also highlighted that her interest in English played a pivotal role in her becoming an advocate. “Her curiosity about English shaped thoughtful advocacy, strengthening the program’s global voice and cultural reach,” Andrew added.

One of Aditi’s first encounters with reading happened when her grandfather presented her with a newspaper written in the Devanagari script at the age when she was attending preschool. Despite being a difficult script for someone of her age, she was able to understand the meaning of the script, surprising both her family and everyone else around her.

Aditi’s reading experience further played an important role in deciding the issues she wanted to work for. Reading Malala Yousafzai’s autobiographical book, ‘I am Malala,’ further enhanced her interest in promoting women empowerment and convinced her about the importance of providing education and literacy opportunities to women and girls.

Besides her commitment to promoting literacy, she has been working with children with special needs and intends to work with Shanti Volunteer Association for the collection and donation of books to Asian countries such as Nepal, where the rates of literacy are comparatively low.

“My parents grew up in a completely opposite environment. They did not have a childhood like this,” she said. “Being literate is so important because even though you have the potential, you can never unlock it if you do not have literacy.” she said showing that the ability to read and comprehend information can be used as the basis for learning and empowerment.

The World Literacy Foundation, a global non-profit organization (Australia) runs a youth-centered program that involves around 900 members (age 16 to 25) from 101 countries across the world. The program has been running for 12 years now, which makes Aditi’s appointment rather significant as the first one in Japan’s history. The program aims at creating a global network of young literacy advocates who will be able to spread the word about literacy within their schools, communities, and beyond.