China was awarded one of the five UNESCO International Reading Association Literacy Prizes for the year of 2007, the organization announced on Monday. 

The prize was awarded to the Community Education Administration Center, Longsheng Ethnic Minority Autonomous County, situated in a remote, rural, and mountainous area in the northeast of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The Region has a large ethnic population and a high illiteracy rate among its women.

"The center notably put in place a wide system of rural education, including hygiene elements, technological facilities, and creative activities which are designed for women of all ages, cultures, and traditions," according to a statement issued by the organization.

"The literacy rate among women has been greatly increased," the organization added.

The UNESCO prizes are awarded annually in recognition of particularly effective contributions to the fight against illiteracy, one of UNESCO's priorities. They call attention to the efforts of thousands of men and women who devote themselves year after year to advancing the cause of literacy for all.

The award ceremony will take place on September 10, 2007 in Bamako, capital of Mali, during the African Regional Conference in Support of Global Literacy.

(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2007)