African Regional Conference in Support of Global Literacy "Renewing Literacy to Face African and International Challenges", 10-12 September 2007 Bamako, Mali

The African Regional Conference in Support of Global Literacy is part of a major advocacy initiative in the framework of EFA and, in particular, the United Nations Literacy Decade and UNESCO's Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE). The initiative started with the White House Conference on Global Literacy in 2006 and was hosted by the First Lady of the United States of America who is the Honorary Ambassador for the UNLD. Six regional conferences followed in Asia, the Arab States, Africa, Latin America and Europe. The ultimate aim of the whole initiative is to assist countries in addressing their literacy challenges and to make a real and measurable impact in the life of their populations, with the aim of contributing towards sustainable human development and poverty eradication.

The African Regional Conference was unique as it was the first high-level conference fully devoted to literacy education and learning through non-formal education. Thus, it has mobilized for the first time around this issue African Ministers and Directors in charge of education, literacy and languages as well as Ministers of Finance from the countries having the biggest literacy challenge.

The Conference was hosted by the government of Mali and organised in cooperation with UNESCO. Upon the invitation of the Malian First Lady, Mrs Lobbo Traoré Touré, more than 20 African First Ladies joined the initiative as a powerful force to lend their influence and enlist new support for literacy in their countries and across the continent.

To highlight the importance of the event, UNESCO celebrated the International Literacy Day 2007 and held the UNESCO International Literacy Prizes Award Ceremony on the first day of the conference.

The conference has been very successful. More than 400 participants shaped and adopted the "Bamako Appeal". The recommendations provided strong messages that have already found a very favourable resonance in Africa and beyond. For instance, the General Conference of UNESCO has accepted the Resolution submitted by the Republic of Mali to support the implementation of the "Bamako Appeal" as well as closer cooperation among Member States. The Appeal issued by the conference participants asks to make literacy and non-formal education a reality as a fundamental human right exercised by all and for all.

Proving their commitment and ensuring the follow-up of the conference, Mali and Burkina Faso have already taken concrete steps. The new Malian Cabinet includes a Ministry in charge of Literacy and National Languages as integral part of Basic Education. The President H.E. Amadou Toumani Touré announced a sharp increase in the budget for literacy. In Burkina Faso, a Task Force has been set up by the First Lady and the President to follow up with concrete measures the recommendation of the Bamako Conference. Furthermore, African Ministers from 48 countries have renewed their commitment and determined that literacy should be integrated in all development programmes. Regional, national and international partnerships and coalitions will be disseminating and exchanging on the effective methodological practices for literacy within non-formal education.

With the support of the Government of Mali, the Education Program Development Fund (EPDF) of the EFA Fast Track Initiative, the Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (OIF), Microsoft, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), the Government of Norway, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).