Adult numeracy and literacy skills are key to transforming lives, promoting social inclusion and contributing to sustainable societies. Achieving an optimal return on investment with regard to the development of adult skills and competencies requires the collation of comprehensive data to assess what people know, what they do with what they know, and the extent to which they are equipped to sustain themselves in the twenty-first century. To help policy-makers generate these data, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has published a new policy brief focusing on direct...

Adult numeracy is key to improving citizens’ lives and supporting the development of jobs markets, economies and societies around the globe. However, its importance is all too often overlooked, in terms of both numeracy education (for adults and in schools) and monitoring of skill levels by credible direct assessment. The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has published a policy brief to support the assessment and development of adult numeracy worldwide.

Recent changes in the world of work, such as jobs growth in the information and service sectors, mean that today’s...

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has just published Référentiel de compétences harmonisé , a report on the competency framework developed for RAMAA (Action Research: Measuring Literacy Programme Participants’ Learning Outcomes). The aim of RAMAA is to build the capacities of 12 French-speaking African countries to evaluate and monitor the quality of literacy programmes.

Developed by specialists in the region with UIL’s technical assistance, the reference framework provides a common tool for the 12 RAMAA countries, namely Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon,...

The human right to education is particularly important in the prison environment, as prisoners often come from disadvantaged socio-economic and educational backgrounds.

This publication explores the extent to which prison authorities fulfil their societal mandate to rehabilitate and reintegrate inmates by enabling them to use prison libraries to pursue their right to education.

Reading and using a prison library can open up a world beyond prison bars, allowing prisoners to forget for a time the harsh reality of prison life and empower them to choose their own reading...

To mark International Literacy Day on 8 September, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) is launching a new publication entitled Fostering a culture of reading and writing: Examples of dynamic literate environments (PDF, 7.8 MB) . The compilation features 18 case studies of successful youth and adult literacy programmes, all of which seek to foster rich literate environments within the family , the...

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) is launching a new publication highlighting the critical role family literacy and learning play in breaking down barriers between different learning contexts and engaging hard-to-reach adults and children in education. Learning Together Across Generations: Guidelines for Family Literacy and Learning Programmes was developed as part of a family learning project initiated by UIL in 2016...

Why RAMAA is Important for literacy: testimonies from participating countries. This title of this publication has been chosen to reflect the commitment of the twelve countries to the second phase of the action research on measuring literacy programme participants’ learning outcomes (RAMAA).

The member countries’ commitment is the cornerstone on which the effective implementation of education-for-all policies is built.

The RAMAA action research, launched at the initiative of the...

To mark the fiftieth anniversary of International Literacy Day on 8 September 2016, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has published a research paper entitled Promoting Health and Literacy for Women’s Empowerment . Written by Dr Anna Robinson-Pant, this paper is the third in a series of studies on literacy and women’s empowerment.

The paper discusses the links between health, well-being, women’s empowerment and education, focusing on the role of literacy. It argues that cross-...

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has launched a new publication on successful youth and adult literacy programmes entitled Literacy in Multilingual and Multicultural Contexts: Effective Approaches to Adult Learning and Education (PDF 4,8 MB). This compilation of case studies will be shared with literacy stakeholders on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of International Literacy Day on 8 September 2016.

The publication showcases examples of effective and...

‘This publication gives a voice to marginalized and underprivileged youth in Latin America, thereby giving readers insights into the contexts in which these young people live and how they use education to empower their communities,’ Arne Carlsen, Director, UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL).

Jóvenes participando en la educación comunitaria: Testimonios de empoderamiento desde América Latina (Youth Driving Community Education: Testimonies of Empowerment from Latin America) is a publication containing twelve...