From Empowerment to Development: Open books, open doors!

1. From Empowerment to Development: Open books, open doors! Global Action Week20 - 26 April 2009 The power of youth and adult literacy and lifelong learning "It should not be stated, but it has to be, it seems. Literacy is the basis of all learning". Nadine Gordimer, Nobel Prize in literature

2. A human right that is enshrined in several international instruments 1948 Universal Declaration 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1997 Hamburg Declaration) The foundation for lifelong learning A prerequisite for personal, social and political emancipation and empowerment Essential for reducing poverty Key for meeting all of the internationally agreed development objectives Ensuring literacy for all Literacy is…

3. Goal 3: Ensuring that the learning needs of all young people and adults are met through equitable access to appropriate learning and life-skills programmes Goal 4: Achieving a 50% improvement in levels of adult literacy by 2015, especially for women, and equitable access to basic and continuing education for all adults Goal 6: Improving all aspects of the quality of education (…) so that recognized and measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all, especially in literacy, numeracy and essential life-skills Global literacy challenge: shared commitments Literacy and life skills cut across all six Education for All goals and are the explicit focus of three 3

4. The literacy challenge Benefits of literacy From rhetoric to action UNESCO activities Regional profiles Examples of good practice Overview / Table of Contents

5. In 2006, illiteracy affected 16% of the global adult population, two-thirds of whom were women The magnitude of the global literacy challenge: facts Projected number of adult illiterates (age 15+), by gender and region, 2015 or = about 5 million adult illiterates Men Women South and West Asia East Asia/Pacific Latin America/Caribbean Sub-Saharan Africa Arab States Projections estimate at least 700millionilliterate adults in 2015 Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009

6. Poor and disadvantaged groups Women and girls Indigenous populations Nomadic communities People living in rural areas Migrants Refugees People with disabilities Prisoners Who are the excluded? Adult literacy rates can vary up to 40 percentage points between the richest and poorest households within a given country

7. Lack of political commitment Formal primary schooling is often preferred over targeted literacy and non-formal education programmes for youth and adults Poor quality delivered Insufficient quality, relevance and capacity Weak management and organization Insufficient funding Current investments by governments and aid agencies are not sufficient to meet the EFA goals on literacy Why the world isn’t on track

8. The right to education encompasses the right to literacy Advocating for human rights begins in literacy classrooms,where learners can be informed about their rights and develop abilities to claim, defend and promote them. “When people are illiterate, their ability to understand and invoke their rights can be very limited” - Amartya Sen, Nobel Prize for Economics, “Literacy as Freedom”

9. Self-esteem and empowerment: widening choices, access to other rights Political benefits: increased civic participation in community activities, trade unions and local politics Cultural benefits: questioning attitudes and norms; improves ability to engage with one‘s culture Social benefits: better knowledge of health care, family planning and HIV/AIDS prevention; higher chance of parents educating children Economic benefits: increased individual income and economic growth; returns on investment in adult literacy programmes comparable to those in primary education Making the case for literacy: the benefits

10. From rhetoric to action: What needs to be done • Scale-up effective youth and adult literacy programmes • Enhance quality of programmes • Develop strong national capacity • Expand equivalency and second chance programmes • Build partnerships • Create rich literate environments • Harness the use of ICTs for literacy Need to increase public spending on basic education and literacy

11. Collaboration across governmental and non-governmental institutional boundaries Reliable data on literacy levels and needs Quality standards based on solid evidence of what works Respect for diverse contexts and languages Links with other fields of development and broader strategies Rich and dynamic literate environments Monitoring and evaluation systems Integrated policies for literacy Adult education and literacy must be included in poverty reduction strategies and national development plans. Policies call for:

12. The success of literacy programmes is affected by Characteristics of learners Training of facilitators Levels of funding Language(s) of instruction Duration Literate environment Community mobilization Links with wider activities such as life skills training Making literacy programmes more effective A good literacy program should lead to real change in participants’ daily lives and expand opportunities for further learning

13. Literate environments are places that: Offer access to printed matter, written records, visual materials or advanced technologies Enable the free exchange of information Provide an array of opportunities for lifelong learning Developing literate environments requires policies related to: Languages Book publishing Media Getting books and reading materials into schools and homes Literate environments to sustain skills Literate environments need developing at home, in schools, in communities and in the larger society.

14. Scaling-up resources Lack of adequate funding is the greatest barrier to progress • Currently, many countries spend less than 1 % of their national education sector budgets on literacy • Action Aid promotes a benchmark of at least 3% of national education budgets for adult literacy • Increased financial support from donors and international aid agencies is needed • Commitment for adult literacy in the EFA Fast-Track Initiative and sector-wide approaches must be enhanced

15. The United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012): Advocacy in Action! The UN Literacy Decade expresses the collective will of the international community to promote Literacy for All, girls and boys, women and men in both developing and developed countries UNESCOleads the UNLD and promotes literacyby helping create goal-oriented partnerships that encourage inclusive planning and implementation of the Decade The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment– LIFE – is a key strategic framework for implementing the UNLD (2005)

16. LIFE provides a collaborative framework of action to address the greatest literacy challenges through: Advocacy and communication to strengthen political will Capacity-building for policy and programme delivery Effective partnerships to raise additional resources Sharing of knowledge and innovations UNESCO programmatic response: Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) LIFE targets the 35 countries with literacy rates below 50% or where there are more than 10 million illiterate people

17. LAMPprovides countries with a basic framework and tools to measure literacy in order to improve education statistics, by providing policy makers with robust information on the literacy and numeracy levels of the young and adult populations equipping countries with the methodological tools to conduct direct assessments of literacy and numeracy skills strengthening national capacities to conduct this kind of survey UNESCO programmatic response: Literacy Assessment and Monitoring Programme (LAMP)

18. CONFINTEA VI: A new momentum for literacy and adult education Belém, Brazil, 19-22 May 2009 CONFINTEA VI’s objectives include: • Mobilizing resources and expertise to help countries with high illiteracy rates carry out large-scale literacy programmes • Targeting literacy interventions in order for highly disadvantaged populations to acquire, maintain and improve literacy, numeracy, language and ICT competencies • Launching a vigorous international effort to reduce the high number of youth and adults without literacy skills within a time frame agreed upon in EFA, UNLD and LIFE

19. Facts + Figures As of 2006, an estimated 161 million adults – 38% of the region’s adult population – were lacking literacy skills (nearly two-thirds are women) Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for 47% of the global number of out-of-school children Nigeria alone accounts for one-ninth of the world’s out-of-school children Progress Many countries (e.g. Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya) are making rapid progress towards Universal Primary Education (UPE) through policy interventions During the last 5 years, Tanzaniasuccessfully reduced its out-of-school population from more than 3 million to less than half a million The literacy challenge: Africa Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009

20. Facts + Figures As of 2006,58 million adults in the region are considered illiterate, two-thirds of whom reside in four countries (Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Sudan) Adult literacy ratesin the regionremainbelow the developing country average (79%) In 2006, there were 5.7 million out of school children, of which 61% were girls In Egypt, more than 95% of out-of-school primary aged children are girls Progress The last two decades have seen a pronounced increase in the number of female adult literates (up to 61%) Several countries, including Algeria, Morocco and Yemen, are making strong progress towards UPE The literacy challenge: Arab States Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009

21. Facts + Figures As of 2006 there were still 37 million illiterate adults in the region, with Brazilaccounting for more than one-third (14 million) followed by Mexico (6 million) As of 2006, the region accounted for 3.5% of the world’s out-of-school children (2.6 million) Speaking an indigenous or non-official language remains a source of disadvantage in the region Progress As of 2006, the regional adult literacy rate had reached a high of91% Brazil is the only country with more than 500,000 out-of-school children, but is currently on track to achieve UPE by 2015 and has taken comprehensive measures to increase literacy The literacy challenge: Latin America and the Caribbean Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009

22. Facts + Figures As of 2006, more than 506 million adults continue to be denied the right to literacy in the region—almost two-thirds of the global total As of 2006, there were more than 28 million out-of-school children Despite progress in reducing gender disparities, girls and women remain at a distinct disadvantage in attending school and acquiring literacy skills Adult literacy rates are increasing, but the rate of population growth is such that the absolute numbers of illiterate adults also continues to climb Progress The last three decades have seen significant reductions of adult illiterates in China, India, Indonesia, and the Islamic Republic of Iran Rapid progress towards UPE has been seen in several countries (e.g. Cambodia, Myanmar) The literacy challenge: Asia Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009

23. Facts + Figures Recent surveys have revealed a skills gap in the region Of particular concern are those leaving school early without having acquired basic competencies Illiteracy is not contained to minority groups and continues to grow withinmainstream populations Progress Increased attention on adult learning and education through vocational training to address high unemployment and low economic activity The literacy challenge: Europe and North America Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009

24. Examples of good practice International Literacy Day (8 September) UNESCO annually rewards innovative, high-quality programmes that are making a real difference in the lives of individuals

25. Good Practice: Senegal TOSTAN -This non-governmental organization (NGO) works mainly in rural areas to provide literacy and life skills for women. Tostan operates outside the formal education system and is directed at people who, for the most part, have never attended school. Its capacity-building programme for communities aims to provide participants with life skills related to democracy, human rights, female and reproductive health, hygiene, literacy, business management, accounting, and microcredit. (Winner of the King Sejong Literacy Prize 2007)

26. Good Practice: South Africa Operation Upgrade -This research-based project uses adult literacy and adult basic education to promote social change and development in Kwanibela, a remote and isolated rural community with a high illiteracy rate and prevalence of HIV and AIDS. The Kwanibela Project’s goals of improving the literacy of rural women who head households and improving access to health facilities and sanitation constitute a holistic vision which strongly illustrates the important connection between literacy and health. (Winner of the Confucius Prize for Literacy 2008)

27. Good Practice: Brazil Curitiba City Council’s Alphabetizando com saude is a programme committed to the idea that mastery of reading and writing is essential to improving the quality of life and health of entire populations. This programme innovatively targets caregivers (mothers and grandparents) and adults (including the elderly), empowering them with literacy skills in order to reduce infant mortality and improve general health. ((Winner of the UNESCO International Reading Association Literacy Prize2008)

28. Author Testimonies: Doris Lessing “I belong to an organization which started out with the intention of getting books into the villages. There was a group of people who in another connection had travelled Zimbabwe at its grass roots. They told me that the villages, unlike what is reported, are full of intelligent people, teachers retired, teachers on leave, children on holidays, old people. I myself paid for a little survey to discover what people in Zimbabwe want to read, and found the results were the same as those of a Swedish survey I had not known about. People want to read the same kinds of books that we in Europe want to read - novels of all kinds, science fiction, poetry, detective stories, plays, and do-it-yourself books, like how to open a bank account”. Doris Lessing Nobel Prize for Literature 2007

29. Let’s act together! to mobilize stronger commitment to increase the quality of programmes to harness new resources