Literacy for Life : Shaping Future Agendas

A/RES/79/151View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 26c Literacy for life: shaping future agendas, published in 2024.

What other versions does this mandate have?

7 versions · 2014–2024

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2024	A/RES/79/151	Literacy for life : shaping future agendas	2,412	89%Compare
2022	A/RES/77/192	Literacy for life : shaping future agendas	2,235	63%Compare
2020	A/RES/75/155	Literacy for life : shaping future agendas	1,456	90%Compare
2019	A/RES/73/145	Literacy for life : shaping future agendas	1,410	82%Compare
2017	A/RES/71/166	Literacy for life : shaping future agendas	1,247	54%Compare

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 9	Poverty and socioeconomic policy	7

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Subprogramme 9	Poverty and socioeconomic policy	7	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

4 reports · 2018–2024

Year	Symbol	Title	Mandate resolution
2024	A/79/155	Literacy for empowerment and transformation report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/77/192
2022	A/77/187	Literacy for life : shaping future agendas and education for democracy report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/75/155
2020	A/75/188	Literacy for life, work, lifelong learning and education for democracy report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/73/145
2018	A/73/292	Literacy for life : shaping future agendas and education for democracy report of the Secretary-General	A/RES/71/166

What subjects does this mandate have?

2 subjects

Literacy Literacy Programmes

What’s in this document?

19 operative paragraphs

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Literacy for empowerment and transformation”;⁶

⁶A/79/155.

Commends the efforts made by Member States, their development partners, the international donor community, the private sector, civil society and the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system, particularly the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, in promoting enjoyment of the right to education, including by making progress on the five strategic axes of action for the period following the Decade;

Calls upon Governments at all levels, as appropriate, to scale up literacy, including digital literacy programmes for all boys and girls, youth and adults, including older persons, with particular attention to those in vulnerable situations, to foster inclusive and innovative delivery of literacy services, including through further harnessing the innovative and transformative potential of digital technology and a strengthened institutional network, to promote an intersectoral approach by linking literacy learning with multiple sectors to address diverse learning needs, such as through relevant and inclusive educational resources in different languages, to establish multi-stakeholder partnerships with the active participation of civil society and the private sector, to encourage the integration of literacy learning into vocational education and training, to mobilize resources to strengthen literacy measurements and statistics, and to invest in education management information systems and data management capacities according to every State’s financial and human capabilities;

Calls upon Member States to continue to increase investment in inclusive and equitable quality education for all, early childhood care and education, youth and adult literacy programmes or initiatives and skills enhancement, and promote opportunities for lifelong learning, technical and vocational training and digital literacy, allowing for the intergenerational acquisition and transfer of knowledge and skills to advance the prospects of future generations;

Encourages Member States, United Nations organizations, multilateral and bilateral donors, regional organizations, civil society, academia and the private sector to sustain their collective efforts for the promotion of literacy and literate environments and to contribute to the implementation of the Strategies (2020–2025) of the Global Alliance for Literacy within the Framework of Lifelong Learning, as well as the development of new strategies for synergistic action at the global, regional, national and community levels;

Recalls the adoption by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization of its Strategy for Youth and Adult Literacy (2020–2025) and its action plan;

Takes note with appreciation of the adoption of the Marrakech Framework for Action at the seventh International Conference on Adult Education, held from 15 to 17 June 2022, stressing the transformative power of adult learning and education for sustainable development and lifelong learning;

Urges international development partners and Governments to cooperate in order to strive to ensure that sufficient and sustainable funds continue to be mobilized, including to address or mitigate the effects driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, by and channelled through new and existing international financing mechanisms for education and that they also explicitly target and benefit youth and adult literacy;

Takes note of the Transforming Education Summit, convened by the Secretary-General from 16 to 19 September 2022, as well as its Pre-Summit, hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris from 28 to 30 June 2022, as well as the stocktake of transformative actions in education, hosted by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization in Paris on 17 June 2024;

Welcomes the establishment of the United Nations Youth Office, takes note of its function to support ongoing efforts towards the mobilization of financial and technical support and investment to promote and upscale quality and inclusive education and training, skills development, capacity-building and bridging the digital divides, in tandem with job creation, for youth and creating an enabling environment for harnessing their talents and abilities to contribute to their societies, and in this regard recognizes its potential positive contribution towards ensuring youth and adult literacy;⁷

⁷Resolution 76/306, para. 3 (i).

Invites Member States, the United Nations, regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders to cooperate in strengthening the capacities of school directors, teachers and educators to ensure literacy, including through the development of intercultural and digital skills and competencies among them, as well as of the capacities to develop relevant pedagogical methods in literacy;

Calls upon States, and invites other relevant stakeholders, to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achieve all literacy-related Sustainable Development Goals and targets;

Calls upon Member States to work with relevant stakeholders, including the private sector and civil society, to take steps to close the digital divides, including the rural-urban, youth-older persons and gender digital divides and those within and between developed and developing countries, and promote digital inclusion by addressing the challenges associated with access, affordability, digital literacy and digital skills, ensuring that the benefits of new technologies, particularly on literacy, are available to all, including those living in rural and remote areas, taking into account the needs of those who are in vulnerable situations, and providing distance learning opportunities, especially in developing countries;

Urges Member States and other relevant stakeholders to take measures to ensure the proper training of teachers and other educational professionals in digital literacy and the availability of and access to learning materials and remote learning platforms to close all digital divides, including by removing barriers such as poor access to connectivity, the lack of affordability of connection and devices, limited digital skills and the absence of locally relevant digital content, in order to provide distance learning opportunities, inter alia, Internet, television and radio teaching alternatives, especially in developing countries;

Invites the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, as the specialized United Nations agency for education, to continue its mandated role to lead and coordinate the Education 2030 agenda, in particular through the renewed global education cooperation mechanism, including the strengthened Sustainable Development Goal 4 Education 2030 High-level Steering Committee,⁸ as an inclusive global multi-stakeholder consultation and coordination mechanism for education in the 2030 Agenda in accordance with the 2030 Agenda follow-up and review process;

⁸See A/77/187.

Requests the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to continue its coordinating and catalysing role through the implementation of its Strategy for Youth and Adult Literacy (2020–2025) and the strategy of the Global Alliance for Literacy and by continuing to provide support to Member States, in collaboration with partners, in enhancing capacities for policy formulation, programme implementation, monitoring and evaluation, as well as sharing information and knowledge on policies, programmes and progress in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal targets connected with literacy, especially target 4.1 on reading skills in primary and lower secondary school (including in Indigenous languages) and target 4.6 on youth and adult literacy, and creating synergies of action between the Alliance and other initiatives, including its Global Partnership for Girls’ and Women’s Education and Global Network of Learning Cities;

Encourages efforts to provide quality education in safe learning environments for all, especially for boys, girls and youth, in humanitarian emergencies to contribute to a smooth transition from relief to development;

Requests the Secretary-General, in cooperation with the Director General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, to submit to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eighty-first session, under the item entitled “Social development”, the sub-item entitled “Literacy for life: shaping future agendas”.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?