UNESCO - Launch of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report 2006 : “Literacy for Life”

26-10-2005 2:00 pm Literacy suffers severe neglect in national and international policy, keeping hundreds of millions of adults on the sidelines of society and limiting progress towards the six Education for All goals and overall poverty reduction, says the new edition of the EFA Global Monitoring Report, to be launched in London on November 9.

The Report focuses on the world’s 771 million adults living without minimal literacy skills, and points out that while the challenge is predominant in developing regions, significant numbers of young people and adults possess weak literacy skills even in highly developed countries.

It maps this global challenge and suggests priorities for scaled-up programmes for youth and adults. It also analyses progress towards universal primary education and gender parity: despite steady advances in some of the world’s poorest countries, the pace of progress remains insufficient. The Report also includes the Education for All Development Index, ranking 123 countries according to their progress towards the six EFA goals set at the World Education Forum in Dakar, Senegal, in 2000.

The goals are still achievable, states the Report. However, reaching them will require an immediate acceleration of activity in developing countries and an approximate doubling of the international community’s aid to basic education, even above the levels implied by the G8 pledges made at Gleneagles in July 2005.

The Report will be launched on Wednesday, November 9, 1 p.m. at the Whitechapel Idea Store* - 319-339 Whitechapel Road (Brady Street Entrance), London E1 1BU

Advance copies are available under embargo for the press upon request.

*The Idea Stores reflect the Report’s attention to enriching the literate environment, offering library services for children and adults, ICT facilities and a wide range of adult education opportunities.

Source	Media Advisory N°2005-63
Author(s)	UNESCOPRESS