UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

10/03/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 10/04/2024 11:20

Literacy for empowerment and transformation: new report of UNSG outlines progress and ways forward

Prepared in cooperation with UNESCO in pursuance of General Assembly Resolution 77/192, the new report of the UN Secretary-General on "Literacy for empowerment and transformation" (A/79/155)provides an overview of the global literacy landscape, highlighting progress and challenges, and major activities implemented by Member States and partners. It also offers recommendations for further promotion of literacy as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the follow-up to the Transforming Education Summit towards more peaceful, just and sustainable societies.

The new report of the UN Secretary-General was presented by Mr Eliot Minchenberg, Director of the UNESCO New York Office, to the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly at its 79th session on 3 October 2024.

This report arrives at a critical moment after the adoption of the Pact of the Future at the Summit of the Futureorganized by the UN Secretary-General (New York, from 22 to 23 September 2024) and in the lead to the 2024 Global Education Meeting (GEM), scheduled for 31 October and 1 November 2024, in Fortaleza, Brazil. At the 2024 GEM, Literacy will be one of the main topics. Global education leaders will take stock of progress toward Sustainable Development Goal 4 on education and lifelong learning and identify transformative actions through an inclusion and equity lens.

Progress and challenges in literacy

Despite a decade of steady progress, nearly one in ten young people and adults (754 million) lacked basic literacy skills in 2023, two-third of whom were women (1). Today, four in ten students do not meet minimum proficiency levels in reading by the end of primary education, while 244 million children, adolescents and young people are not in school. Behind these lie the twin challenges of equity and quality, which have resulted in millions of children failing to acquire basic literacy skills, and the relative neglect of youth and adult literacy, as reflected in its chronic underfunding.

Emerging issues and concerns

At a time of profound transformation, the report calls for a holistic approach to literacy not only for achieving learning and development outcomes, but also for fostering critical thinking, citizenship, peace, pluralism and social transformation. Literacy learning should involve a process of meaning-making and a joy for reading, writing and learning, in addition to mastering literacy as a technical skill. There has been renewed focus on literacy educators, integrated and intergenerational approaches to literacy, and the role of the learner's first language in literacy development and linguistic and epistemic diversity. Attention is drawn to opportunities and potential risks associated with digitalization, emphasizing literacy's critical role to enable people to better navigate in an increasingly digitalized world.

Call for coordinated and sustained literacy efforts for empowerment and transformation

The report also stresses the importance of coordinated and sustained literacy efforts for greater impact through major mechanisms and partnerships. The UNESCO-coordinated Global Education Cooperation Mechanism for the Education 2030 Agendaand its apex body, the SDG 4-Education 2030 High-level Steering Committee, remain core global education mechanisms, linking literacy efforts with the broader education 2030 agenda.

In addition, literacy is also integral to the follow-up to the Seventh International Conference on Adult Education(CONFINTEA VII) in 2022, at which the Marrakech Framework of Action was adopted, and other platforms, including the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning-led Global Alliance for Literacy within the Framework of Lifelong Learning.

The Secretary-General calls upon Member States and partners to accelerate progress in literacy as part of the right to education to empower people, transform society, and foster inclusive and sustainable development.