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Chapter
Introduction
This chapter provides background on the genesis and purpose of Progress and Challenges in Literacy and Adult Education in Asia and the Pacific 2003-2008, as well as information about the key frameworks that promote literacy and adult education in the Asia-Pacific region.
1.1 Purpose of the Report Progress and Challenges in Literacy and Adult Education in Asia and the Pacific 2003-2008 offers a review and assessment of the major literacy and adult education activities undertaken in the Asia Pacific region during the first half of the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003-2008). The report describes national and regional-level programmes implemented in collaboration with UNESCO, international organizations, NGOs, and governments. It provides an overview of key actions, progress-to-date, successes and on-going challenges, and recommendations for future actions. As the most up-to-date assessment of literacy and adult education in the Asia-Pacific region, this publication serves a number of important functions. It offers a key reference on the state of literacy and adult education that can be used by governments, policy makers, and practitioners. It provides a regional overview that will inform CONFINTEA VI preparatory work for the Asia-Pacific region. Moreover, the report can be used as a tool for governments, international organizations, and NGOs as they adapt on-going programmes to make them more inclusive and effective, as well as in the design of future programmes at the national and regional levels. For practitioners working on other regions, the report offers an assessment of the important issues and trends in literacy and adult education in the Asian context that can be used to inform comparative work on the global level. This study draws on a number of national and regional sources, including the Education for All Mid-Decade Assessment reports and National Reports on the State of Adult Learning and Education prepared by the countries of the region. The report also draws from UNESCO publications, as well as seminar and conference proceedings related to UNLD. In addition, UNESCO circulated a questionnaire on national-level UNLD activities and outputs to field offices
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in the region, and the responses to this questionnaire have been included in the report. The first draft of the report was prepared within a short, 4-month timeframe. It was based on secondary sources, as there was no opportunity to visit field sites in the research phase. The draft was shared with countries during the Asia and the Pacific CONFINTEA VI preparatory conference in October 2008. Feedback from countries has been incorporated into this updated and revised version. Despite it’s limitations, it is hoped that the report offers a window onto the wide variety of literacy and adult education activities that have been undertaken in the past five years, many of the successes that have been achieved, and the many challenges that still need to be addressed.
1.2 Background on Education for All (EFA), the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD), and the Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) The Education for All (EFA) movement was launched in 1990, when representatives of the international community met in Jomtien, Thailand, and agreed to universalize primary education and significantly reduce illiteracy by the end of the decade. As these goals were not fully achieved by 2000, the international community met again at the World Education Forum in Dakar to reaffirm their commitment to Education for All. The Dakar Framework for Action, which emerged from this meeting, set forth six key education goals to be met by the year 2015, including Goal 4, a 50 percent improvement in literacy by the year 2015. The Dakar Framework placed the
Progress and Challenges in Literacy and Adult Education in Asia and the Pacific, 2003-2008
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