Literacy and Livelihoods Experts Meet in Vancouver

This article describes a meeting held in Vancouver in November 2004 to discuss ways that The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) can provide greater support to Commonwealth developing countries seeking to improve the livelihood opportunities of the illiterate people living within them. The meeting was entitled "Learning for Life in a Changing World." Twenty-six people from around the world gathered and represented government, development agencies,
non-governmental institutions (NGOs), international organisations and education institutions. The meeting was organised by COL and supported by the British Department for International Development and the Canadian International Development Agency.

Participants at the meeting described literacy development programmes as generally lacking in coordination and noted that the role of literacy in
development is not well understood. Based on this, the group almost unanimously agreed that COL should assist policy makers in developing and
implementing policies that foster the integration of literacy skills acquisition with livelihoods development initiatives.

Sir John Daniel, COL President and CEO, described COL’s role as "getting greater leverage on the challenge of preparing people for life in a
changing world by using technology intelligently." He also noted, "The fundamental purpose...-...is to reduce poverty and hunger through such
interventions."

Meeting participants concurred that literacy skills should be integrated with learning for livelihoods in formal and informal contexts with the understanding that literacy skills also have a practical application in the context of the lives of the learners. From the perspective of policy makers, the outcome must demonstrate positive impacts on national socio-economic objectives.

At the meeting, a session entitled "Linking Literacy Development and Livelihoods in Bangladesh" helped illustrate how boat schools can provide

unique learning opportunities for people who live in remote areas of Bangladesh. The Mobile Internet-Educational Unit on Boats (MIEUB)

initiative was developed by Shidhulai Swanirvar Sangstha, a national voluntary NGO, through funding provided by COL’s Poverty Reduction Outcomes

Through Education Innovations and Networks (COL-PROTEIN) programme. The boats use solar energy to power technical equipment such as computers

and projectors and help bring resources to, for instance, young women who would not have access to books or computers otherwise; or, education

programmes where children and their parents have access to basic non-formal education. This project is described as making a "significant

impact."

This article also highlighted some features from the COL Literacy Project (COLLIT) which was carried out in

India and Zambia to explore ways in which literacy programmes could be enhanced through the use of appropriate technologies. The article

describes that at the end of three-and-a-half years, the COLLIT project revealed "the profound impact" on learners’ self-esteem and how their

newly acquired literacy skills positively impacted their everyday lives. Literacy classes are described as having the most effect on people over

the age of 40. The COLLIT project demonstrated that the benefits of improved literacy extended far beyond reading, writing and numeracy and that

the greatest impact for people was in how they could more effectively earn a living and carry out everyday life.

Based on the outcomes of four keynote presentations and sixteen country reports offered in Vancouver, a number of common themes emerged from

descriptions of the current state of literacy and livelihood programmes. A few key themes include:

• Growing number and diversity of providers: a diverse array of agencies and organisations are involved in literacy development programming, ranging from national governments and NGOs to
  churches and a growing number of private sector organisations.
• Emerging national, regional and global programmes: a lack of co-ordination among various programme providers seems to be changing as

  illustrated by examples in the Pacific Islands, Africa and UNESCO’s global project.

• Increasing linkage between literacy and development: a growing realisation that there are many "literacies" besides reading and numeracy
  that are essential to socio-economic development is propelling a trend toward including literacy learning opportunities in development strategies.
• Increasing collaboration across sectors: the isolation of literacy education in the education sector is breaking down through involvement
  particularly with the health and agriculture sectors.
• Increasing focus on target learners: the emerging national priorities for literacy learning are out of school youth, women and neo-literates.

Click here for links to a meeting summary and final report.