Co-operating for Literacy. Report of an International Seminar (Berlin, October 1983) [microform] / Paul Fordham, Ed

Intended for people in government and other agencies who make decisions on policy or on funding for literacy, this short report of an international seminar on literacy summarizes seminar themes. The first topic considered is the rationale for investment in education. The connection between literacy and national development is stressed, and three interrelated components of a strategy toward literacy are defined: literacy for adults and out-of-school youth, Universal Primary Education, and adult continuing education. A discussion of literacy in context looks at the role of the national goals, the correlation between illiteracy and poverty, and the large number of the world's illiterates who are women. Adult continuing education is then discussed as effective followup or postliteracy activity. Suggestions are offered for what can be done to promote literacy, including cooperation between third world countries, establishment of regional offices and associations as clearinghouses on training, and national training workshops for literacy workers. A final discussion of the meaning of cooperation focuses on five problem areas identified in the delicate area of international relations and understanding: project identification and formulation, cooperation among national governmental organizations, the selection and use of consultants, evaluation and monitoring, and conflicting reporting systems. (YLB)