Literacy Efforts Analysis

UNESCO's new publication takes stock of youth and adult literacy interventions which have been implemented since 1966, when UNESCO held its first International Literacy Day. It sheds light on the literacy-related challenges the world is now facing, as it embarks on the implementation of the2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The publication begins with an analysis of trends in literacy rates at the regional and global levels, and identifies fifty countries that have made notable progress. It then reflects on emerging conceptions of literacy, from ‘literacy as a stand-alone skill' to 'functional literacy’ for work and livelihood, to 'literacy for empowerment’ of poor and marginalized populations and finally to 'literacy as social practice’, shaped by the cultural context in which it is applied. These four conceptions are illustrated by a wide range of literacy campaigns, programs and policies, implemented within the fifty selected countries. Finally, the publication envisages the possible future of literacy from the perspective of sustainable development, lifelong learning and digital societies, with a focus on the need for urgency of action.
UNESCO. (2017). Reading the past, writing the future: Fifty years of promoting literacy. Paris, France: UNESCO.
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0024/002475/247563e.pdf