Post on 31-Dec-2015
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From Empowerment to Development:Open books, open doors!
"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
The power of youth and adult literacy and lifelong learning
Global Action Week20 - 26 April 2009
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
Literacy is…
Ensuring literacy for all
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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
Literacy and life skills cut across all six Education for All goals and are the explicit focus of three
Global literacy challenge: shared commitments
The literacy challenge Benefits of literacy From rhetoric to action UNESCO activities Regional profiles Examples of good practice
Overview / Table of Contents
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In 2006, illiteracy affected 16% of the global adult population, two-thirds of whom were women
Projections estimate at least 700 million illiterate adults in 2015
Projected number of adult illiterates (age 15+), by gender and region, 2015
South and West Asia Sub-Saharan Africa East Asia/Pacific Arab States Latin America/Caribbean
= about 5 million adult illiterates
or Women Men
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009
The magnitude of the global literacy challenge: facts
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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
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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
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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”
The right to education encompasses the right to literacy
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
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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
From rhetoric to action: What needs to be done
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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:
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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
A good literacy program should lead to real change in participants’ daily lives and expand opportunities for further learning
Making literacy programmes more effective
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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.
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
Scaling-up resources
Lack of adequate funding is the greatest barrier to progress
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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
UNESCO leads the UNLD and promotes literacy by 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)
The United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2012): Advocacy in Action!
LIFE provides a collaborative framework of action toaddress 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
LIFE targets the 35 countries with literacy rates below 50% or where there
are more than 10 million illiterate people
UNESCO programmatic response: Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE)
LAMP provides 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)
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
CONFINTEA VI: A new momentum for literacy and adult education
Belém, Brazil, 19-22 May 2009
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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, Tanzania successfully reduced its out-of-school population from more than 3 million to less than half a million
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009
The literacy challenge: Africa
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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 rates in the region remain below 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
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009
The literacy challenge: Arab States
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Facts + Figures - As of 2006 there were still 37 million illiterate adults in the region, with Brazil accounting 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 of 91%
- 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
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009
The literacy challenge: Latin America and the Caribbean
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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)
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009
The literacy challenge: Asia
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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 within mainstream populations
Progress- Increased attention on adult learning and education through vocational training to address high unemployment and low economic activity
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report 2009
The literacy challenge: Europe and North America
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International Literacy Day (8 September)
UNESCO annually rewards innovative, high-quality programmes that are making a real
difference in the lives of individuals
Examples of good practice
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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)
Good Practice: Senegal
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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)
Good Practice: South Africa
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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 Prize 2008)
Good Practice: Brazil
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“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 LessingNobel Prize for Literature 2007
Author Testimonies: Doris Lessing
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Let’s act together!
to mobilize stronger commitment
to increase the quality of programmes
to harness new resources