BOOKS FOR BOTSWANA: Claire Tang, left, Princeton High School junior and recently appointed World Literacy Foundation youth ambassador, and her classmate Emma Liu stand with boxes of books about to be shipped to a school in Botswana for an African library book drive they helped to organize. (Photo courtesy of Claire Tang)

By Donald Gilpin

As a newly appointed World Literacy Foundation youth ambassador for 2024, Princeton High School junior Claire Tang will be continuing her work to combat illiteracy and increase education and awareness about the importance of reading and writing.

“Reading has always been one of my biggest hobbies, so I’ve experienced the positive impact literacy can have on quality of life,” Tang wrote in an email. Last year she worked with the African Library Project (ALP) and the Alliance of Youth Leaders in the United States (AYLUS) to organize two book drives that supported libraries in Malawi and Botswana, resulting in more than 2,500 books delivered and $2,000 raised.

In partnership with her classmate Emma Liu, Tang is working on another book drive this summer with AYLUS and ALP to support a secondary school library in Lesotho.

As a youth ambassador in the year ahead, she plans to continue her work with ALP and AYLUS while branching out into additional literacy challenges locally and globally.

“On a more local scale, I hope to start a book club or writing group for younger kids in elementary and middle schools in the Princeton area,” she said. “I would also love to organize more book drives and fundraising activities, such as bake sales, to support underserved school districts in New Jersey with a need for more books and literary resources.”

Tang is currently conducting online classes for middle schoolers and hoping to expand this initiative through partnership with other youth ambassadors across the globe, “sharing our literary knowledge through creating free online resources that teach literacy skills and organizing free writing lessons.”

The World Literacy Foundation is an international literacy nonprofit seeking to eradicate illiteracy worldwide. Their youth ambassadors are a diverse group of young people aged 15 to 25 from 40 countries.

Tang discussed the importance of reading and her commitment to confront the challenges of illiteracy in today’s society. “Being able to read allows people to connect and communicate with the knowledge the world offers,” she wrote. “This could mean being able to read a sign on the street, communicating effectively with others, or accessing job opportunities.”

She continued, “Illiteracy essentially prevents people from reaching their full potential or even getting halfway there. The World Literacy Foundation empowers people around the world by extending access to literacy resources. The organization aims to eradicate illiteracy by 2040, which is obviously an ambitious goal. As an ambassador, I hope to play my part in hitting this goal through organizing more book drives, creating fundraising events, and setting up opportunities for literacy education.”

According to the World Literacy Foundation, 21 percent of adults In the U.S. lack basic reading skills, and many children struggle to read proficiently. Globally, 770 million people cannot read a single word, and two billion people have difficulty reading a full sentence.

Not surprisingly, Tang’s love for literature extends to her writing endeavors. She is co-editor of the news and features section of The Tower, the PHS student newspaper, and she enjoys writing both journalistic articles and literary fiction.

“I love writing in the genre of magical realism, especially after having attended an Iowa Young Writers’ Studio course this summer,” she said. “It was amazing and life-changing. I met so many inspiring people there.”

Tang is also a genre managing editor and teaching assistant at Polyphony Lit, a student-run international literary magazine for high school writers. She is the co-editor of their Voices Blog, which is currently partnering with young Ukrainian writers in publishing their perspectives on the ongoing war in Ukraine.

When she is not reading, writing, or pursuing her work as a literacy youth ambassador, Tang can probably be found playing the trombone. She is a member of the PHS Studio Band, which released an album in June that they recorded last December at Abbey Road Studios in London.