LITERACY, NON-FORMAL EDUCATION AND ADULT EDUCATION

Since its creation, UNESCO has given high priority to the universalisation of basic education. In 1990, it was responsible for International Literacy Year and played a key role in the World Conference on Education for All. This article focuses on the role played by UNESCO in promoting international cooperation in literacy, non-formal education and adult education during the 1990s. It analyses the changes in the concept of literacy and outlines the achievements globally and in some regions and countries in the quest to create a literate world. Finally, it argues that literacy is still extremely important and that governments as well as the civil society have a key role in meeting basic learning needs.