The Plurality of literacy and its Implications for Policies and Programmes: UNESCO Position Paper

Literacy lies at the heart of UNESCO’s concerns and makes up an essential part of its mandate, being entwined with the right to education set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948. These concerns have to do with promoting the meaningful acquisition and application of literacy in laying the basis for positive social transformation, justice, and personal and collective freedom. Despite tremendous progress made over the past 55 years, universal literacy remains a major challenge for both developing and developed countries in terms of commitment and action. There are over 800 million illiterate adults in today’s world – a fi gure projected to remain unchanged in 2015 if current trends continue unabated. The present deliberation on literacy as a plural notion and its implications for policy and programme development represents a contribution towards helping solve this stubborn problem