© UNESCO
On the basis of a joint research project on literacy and life skills education for vulnerable youth, carried out with the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) in 2010, two policy forums on “Literacy and Basic Life Skills for Vulnerable Youth” were organized in cooperation with UNESCO offices: one in Bamako, Mali (September 2011) together with CIDA, and the other one in Cairo, Egypt (December 2011) with the support of the Danish-Egyptian Democratic Initiatives.
Participants of the forums indicated the need for more knowledge on appropriate tools and modalities to effectively reach out to the most vulnerable and marginalized youth groups. The Forum in Bamako brought together 70 participants from seven countries (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone). Directors of Literacy Departments, civil society and youth themselves came together to examine national policies relating to vulnerable youth and their access to literacy and basic life skills, as well as to share innovative practices responding to the particular learning needs of vulnerable youth. By the end of the meeting, each country team produced an action plan on how to design and implement targeted programmes for vulnerable youth.
In order to continue the work accomplished in the Bamako Forum, a workshop involving stakeholders with experience in this field will be organized in the framework of the Regional African Expert Meeting for the Follow up of CONFINTEA VI in 2012.
UIL plans to publish an overall research report and a compilation of tools in 2013.
