'We are now at a juncture of redefining literacy as the foundation of Lifelong Learning for the next 15 years. Therefore, it is imperative to look back and learn from past literacy initiatives and policies in order to design new and successful strategies in future', remarks Arne Carlsen, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.

The past decade has seen a resurgence in the popularity of literacy campaigns as a means of mobilizing political will, resources and people. However, there has been inadequate understanding of the...

“Families can foster a culture of learning where the education needs of all its members are addressed,” Arne Carlsen, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL).

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has launched a new publication on successful family literacy and learning programmes entitled “Learning Families: Intergenerational Approaches to Literacy Teaching and Learning” (PDF 4,8 MB). This compilation presents...

«The action research project RAMAA was initiated by UIL in order to provide policymakers and development partners with reliable and usable contextual data. This data will help improve the quality of literacy programmes for youth and adults, strengthen evidence-based advocacy, and develop national capacities with an emphasis on ownership and sustainability» (Arne Carlsen, UIL Director).

This new publication is a critical review of the first results of action research on measuring the learning outcomes of literacy programmes. Five francophone...

'The integration of action research in training programmes for youth and adult educators can greatly enhance the quality of youth and adult teaching and learning', says Arne Carlsen, Director of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning.

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), in collaboration with the UNESCO Multi-sectoral Regional Office for West Africa in Abuja, has published a guidebook on how action research can enhance youth and adult literacy education and learning. This guidebook can be used as a resource for training adult...

Together with the Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE) , UIL has published a collection of testimonies from young people participating in community education and development programmes either as learners and facilitators entitled Youth Driving Community Education: Testimonies of Empowerment from Asia and the Pacific . The testimonies provide excellent illustration of how youth-focused education and development programmes in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, the Philippines and...

To celebrate the 10th Anniversary of Hamburg’s award-winning Family Literacy project (FLY) (2010 winner of the UNESCO King Sejong Literacy Prize and 2011 winner of the Hamburg Education Prize), UIL and the Hamburg State Institute for Teacher Training and School Development (LI) are launching the publication Learning to Fly: Family-oriented Literacy Education in Schools (in English and German). This co-publication includes contributions from key stakeholders – academics, teachers, parents and children – participating in the conceptualization and implementation of FLY in...

A study entitled Literacy and Education for Sustainable Development and Women’s Empowerment explores how and why literacy programmes can contribute to sustainable development and processes of women’s empowerment. The paper argues that only by looking in depth at literacy learning and development practices can we begin to address the challenge of narrowing the gender gap in literacy attainment. The paper reviews a range of adult literacy programmes and distills principles of good practice in order to arrive at recommendations for future action. It makes a case for the importance...

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has published a research study titled “Literacy and Women’s Empowerment: Stories Of Success And Inspiration” in contribution to the International Literacy Day on 8 September 2013.

The study describes promising approaches to developing literacy and learning for women, who are the majority of the world’s non-literate adults. Key success factors are identified to outline concrete recommendations on how to achieve literacy and empowerment of women...

The global mid-term evaluation report on UNESCO’s Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE, 2006-2015), produced by UIL on the basis of national and regional mid-term evaluation processes and reports, is now available online. It seeks to contribute to the effective implementation of the initiative through to 2015.

The report shows mixed results with regard to progress in literacy. The majority of the 35 LIFE countries recorded an increase in adult literacy rates – by on average 3.1 percentage points compared to the global average of 1.9 percentage points over the...

UIL and ADEA present the results of a comprehensive stocktaking research project that assesses the experiences of mother tongue and bilingual formal and non-formal education in 25 sub-Saharan African countries as well as the creation of multilingual literate environments.

The authors of the study highlight that improvements in educational quality and learning outcomes derive from strong multilingual language models and socio-culturally relevant curricula which use African languages as media of instruction for at least six years. Further, they make the case that locally-based...