The Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) was held at in Belém do Pará, Brazil, from 1 to 4 December 2009. It was organised on behalf of UNESCO by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning in partnership with the Ministry of Education of Brazil. A total of 1,125 participants from 144 countries attended, including 55 Ministers and Deputy Ministers and 16 Ambassadors and Permanent UNESCO Delegates. There were also representatives of UN agencies, inter-governmental organisations, non-governmental organisations and foundations, as well as learners’ associations. The...

‘The recent development of lifelong learning policies in many UNESCO Member States has shown that there is a growing demand for the knowledge, skills and competences acquired by adults and young people over the course of their lives to be evaluated and accredited within different contexts: work, education, family life, community and society,’ says Arne Carlsen, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.

Alongside established systems for recognizing formal learning, some Member States have developed mechanisms to...

The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE 2006-2015) is one of UNESCO’s three flagship initiatives dedicated to tackling illiteracy, advancing the EFA agenda and achieving the goals of the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD – 2003-2012). The LIFE initiative targets 35 countries that are home to 85 % of the world’s population deprived of literacy competencies. It is built on genuine commitment and provides a new vision and course of action. Now that the initiative has been in place for three years, a major review has been published to take stock, assess its achievements, identify...

What has happened in Latin America and the Caribbean in terms of education, and of adult learning and education (ALE) in particular, since CONFINTEA V (Hamburg, 1997)? Are there quantitative and qualitative advances in relation to the major tasks and challenges identified over a decade ago? Who are the new actors intervening in the field? Are renewed thinking and strategies in place? How has the expansion of modern Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) affected the field? What have been the lessons learned over the past decade? What are the main issues, trends, and challenges...

This paper summarizes developments in adult learning and education in the Arab States after CONFINTEA V. It includes a summary of trends and challenges that continue to face the region in implementing lifelong learning strategies.

The State and Development of Adult Learning and Education in the Arab States (PDF, 0.2 MB)

Available in Arabic: (PDF, 3,51) حالة وتطور تعلم وتعليم الكبار في الدول...

This regional report covers developments in adult learning and education (ALE) in the UNESCO region of Europe, North America and Israel , as reported by the Member States. It contributes to the Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) for CONFINTEA V1 2009.

Download: The state and development of adult learning and education in Europe, North America and Israel (PDF; 0.3 MB)

This paper is the regional synthesis report for the Asia-Pacific Region, presented and considered at the Asia Pacific Regional Conference, 6-8 October 2008, Seoul, Republic of Korea. This was one of five regional preparatory conferences preceding the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI) to be held 19-22 May 2009 in Belem, Brazil. The theme of CONFINTEA VI is Living and Learning for a Viable Future – The Power of Adult Learning. This synthesis report has been prepared on the basis of national reports and other relevant materials on the development and state...

This publication provides an analysis of and recommendations on literacy learning for indigenous youth and adults in multicultural and multilingual contexts. The publication is based on seven studies on the topic carried out in Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru in 2007-2008 to mark the UN’s International Year of Languages (2008). The studies focused on analysing programmes that recognised the crucial role that indigenous languages play in people’s acquisition of the written code and consequently combined bilingual/multilingual learning...

This report on the development and state of adult learning and education (ALE) in Subsaharan Africa is necessarily framed within the context of global development and change and in particular with the policy agendas of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA). The role of ALE is explicitly or implicitly addressed in these initiatives and this challenges the field to examine what has been done since CONFINTEA V to foster and develop democracy, communities, societies and human rights through adult learning. The report synthesises the Member State reports submitted...

Produced in 2009, the first Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE 1) was the most comprehensive overview to date of the global state of adult learning and education (ALE). Designed for policy-makers, practitioners and researchers, GRALE I provided a strong basis for negotiations at the Sixth International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VI). Many of its recommendations were taken up in the outcome document of CONFINTEA VI: the...