High-Level International Round Table on Literacy at UNESCO Headquarters to mobilise for EFA Goal 4

On 6 and 7 September, as part of the celebrations for International Literacy Day (8 September), representatives from those 41 countries that face the largest literacy challenges, including 14 ministers and vice-ministers of education, attended a high-level event in Paris titled “Reaching the 2015 Literacy Target: Delivering on the promise”. They were joined by participants from other UN agencies, literacy experts, civil society stakeholders and participants from the private sector to identify ways of accelerating progress to meet the 2015 deadline. UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, UIL, as the co-convener, chaired the opening session and provided input to a discussion process which provided country delegates much opportunity to share experiences and opinions on advocacy, partnerships, resource mobilisation and forward looking strategies to tackle the literacy challenge by translating vision into action.

A Paris Communiqué on Scaling Up Literacy was adopted by participants to intensify efforts to reach the Education For All Goal 4 of a 50% improvement in adult literacy rates by 2015. UNESCO was requested to provide assistance with the implementation of related National Action Plans to reach the EFA Goal 4 (http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/education-building-blocks/literacy/advocacy/international-literacy-day/action-plans/). In a Technical Session with Senior Officials from countries represented in the High-Level International Round Table, partners and experts, UIL shared the key findings and recommendations resulting from the LIFE mid-term evaluation. UNESCO’s Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) is a ten-year (2006-2015) framework of collaborative action for enhancing national literacy efforts in 36 Member States.

In the context of the International Literacy Day, the award ceremony for the 2012 UNESCO literacy prizes and a ceremony to nominate in a special ceremony the Ivorian singer A’salfo UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for literacy took also place.