773 million youth and adults worldwide still lack basic literacy skills, and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic jeopardizes hard-won gains in literacy provision. Many literacy providers have argued that systems around the world were insufficiently prepared to leverage technologies and provide online or distance education that would mitigate the total disruption of literacy programmes caused by the pandemic. Low capacities along with low financial investment and political will have been cited as the main contributors to this lack of preparedness.

Open and distance learning (ODL) is...

Approximately 11 million people are in prisons worldwide, a number that is constantly growing. Many prisons are overcrowded and at crisis point, unable to provide education – a fundamental human right to which all prisoners should have access. To identify current trends, progress and challenges in prison education at a global level, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has published Education in prison: A literature review .

The publication recognizes the variety of understandings of the concept...

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) has launched a new publication, Integrated Approaches to Literacy and Skills Development: Examples of Best Practice in Adult Learning Programmes . This new compilation showcases 21 adult education programmes that demonstrate promising approaches to integrating literacy, life skills and vocational skills in various country contexts around the world.

Such integrated approaches have great potential to enhance the relevance and quality of adult education programmes and increase adult learners’ motivation in enrolling in such...

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,...

A new UNESCO issue note, produced by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the Section of Education Policy at UNESCO Headquarters, aims to support education policy-makers and planners in ensuring the quality of learning is maintained in the context of the current pandemic, now and in its aftermath .

Unlocking the potential of family and intergenerational learning argues for the creation of learning families, highlighting lessons from the past and the present, as well as key messages and practical tips for designing effective policy interventions...

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-...