As a response to the University of the Philippines Open University’s (UPOU) commitment to uphold and achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the special project was designed to tackle specifically Goal 4 of Quality Education. This goal aims to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all. 

The design of the special project, especially, has set out to address literacy gaps, which is one of the foundations of quality education. Early literacy plays a pivotal role in moulding a child’s future academic success, performance and lifelong learning (Hasbrouk, 2023). The initiative directly reinforces SDG 4, recognising that promoting literacy goes beyond achieving phonological awareness, vocabulary building, and basic literacy skills, but these are essential to critical thinking and real-world applications. 

As UNESCO (2025) elaborates, literacy improves lives by expanding capabilities, inadvertently reducing poverty, and having positive effects on health, and ultimately, sustainable development. In reality, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to literacy, and the diminished notion of “just reading”, “counting and writing”. It is a continuum of learning that builds on a larger range of skill sets necessary for 21st-century living, which includes digital skills, media literacy, global citizenship, and purposeful skills acquired for specific jobs.  Furthermore, the initiative includes establishing the program, the utility of the program, and the utility of the instructional material in its long term with partner reading clubs and librarians, accomplishing SDG 17, which focuses on the vitality of bridging partnerships in achieving Sustainable Development Goals.