Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE)

The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) was conceived as a ten-year (2006-2015) strategic framework through which national governments, NGOs, civil society, the private sector, UN agencies, and bilateral and multilateral agencies collectively advanced literacy efforts in thirty-five countries where illiteracy posed a critical challenge. As a key operational mechanism for the implementation of the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD, 2003-2012), which was led and coordinated by UNESCO, LIFE aimed to support countries in achieving a fifty per cent improvement in their adult literacy rates by 2015.

LIFE was set up as:

• a framework of collaborative action for enhancing and improving national literacy efforts;
• a process in support of literacy which is country-led and country-specific.
• a support mechanism embedded in national policies and strategies; and
• an initiative for technical support services and facilitation by UNESCO in the areas of policy, advocacy, partnership, capacity-building and innovation.