literacy for life; EFA global monitoring report, 2006 - Institut de ...

GOOD POLICY, GOOD PRACTICE / 245
will work with UNESCO on literacy assessment
and cost and financing analysis for literacy, for
which OECD and UNICEF can also be key
partners.
Potentially, this is important work, and
UNESCO’s programme on literacy practices
and environments, and literacy for all is another
valuable resource. If the Literacy Decade can
generate political and technical visibility for
literacy internationally, strengthen evidencebased
research and serve as an advocate for
literacy in education sector and poverty strategies,
it will make a signal contribution to putting
literacy back into the core of EFA.
The second opportunity is provided by the
UNESCO Literacy Initiative for Empowerment
(LIFE) programme (2005–2015), designed to
operate within the framework of the Literacy
Decade. Its primary goal is to empower women
and girls through literacy in thirty-four countries
with a recorded literacy rate of below 50% or with
more than 10 million people without basic literacy
skills. This ambitious programme, relying on
advocacy, capacity-building and the promotion of
innovation, will need to be well coordinated within
the framework of national sector policies and will
almost certainly require significant levels of
additional funding if the desired impact is to be
achieved. It is unlikely to be successful as a
standardized model but can serve as a framework
for working flexibly in individual countries. There
are obvious opportunities to work with the United
Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI) as well
as with regional bodies and initiatives, such as the
Association for the Development of Education in
Africa (ADEA) and the African Union.
Conclusion
No one questions the goal of the literate
society, but far too many people are denied
the opportunity to contribute and gain from its
benefits. There is sufficient evidence around
the world – historical and current – to show that
the goal is attainable if the right policies are put
in place, and sufficient national and international
political, public and professional energy and
resources drive the process. The policies are not
an add-on to the Millennium Development Goals
but a necessary if understated part of their
achievement. And they lie at the core of EFA.
Table 9.11: Trends in major aid-financed literacy projects and programmes
Survey Total Bilateral & banks UN agencies
Description of target population 1
Women
Girls
Youth
Children
Adults
School-age
Rural
Out-of-school
Teachers
Poor
Boys
Trainers
Indigenous
Minority
Ministry
Parents
Refugee
Disadvantaged
Regional distribution 2
Arab States
Central Asia
Central and Eastern Europe
East Asia and the Pacific
Latin America and the Caribbean
Sub-Saharan Africa
South and West Asia
Multiregional
No data
Type of partner/implementing organization 3
Government
NGO
Government and NGO
NPO
United Nations 4
Others and unknown
65 25 40
36 11 25
35 21 4
33 19 14
23 11 12
17 17 0
15 14 1
12 1 11
9 7 2
8 8 0
6 6 0
6 6 0
5 4 1
4 4 0
3 3 0
2 0 2
2 1 1
2 0 2
19 6 13
3 1 2
8 0 8
65 35 30
36 19 17
93 57 36
43 33 10
27 12 15
4 0 4
92 42 50
99 84 15
14 5 9
5 5 0
59 9 50
29 18 11
1. Derived from counting the frequency of words describing the characteristics of populations appearing
in project descriptions for 208 projects. Some projects had more than one target group.
2. Project countries and regions are categorized by EFA region.
3. ‘Government’ = central and local government and government institutions; NGO = local and international
civil society organizations.
4. Of 50 United Nations projects, 48 are UNESCO extrabudgetary programmes, financed by other private,
bilateral or multilateral donors but executed by UNESCO. Some are implemented by government or NGOs.
Source: EFA Global Monitoring Report Team.