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On the occasion of the Arab Literacy Day, the Arab League Educational (8 Jan 2023), Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO) hosted, on 10 January 2023, a regional consultative symposium on literacy and adult education as part of its efforts to promote adult education. The symposium, titled “Literacy and the Transformation of Adult Education and Learning within the Marrakech Framework for Action,” sought to foster dialogue and expertise-sharing among officials and experts in the field of adult education for the purpose of achieving equitable and inclusive education for all.

Representatives from the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning, Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States, UNESCO Regional Center of Quality and Excellence in Education, and various universities, organizations, and adult education institutions from across the Arab region were in attendance.

At the seminar, academics and experts discussed the strategies and mechanisms needed to advance adult literacy programmes and lifelong learning in the Arab countries. They also explored how adult learning and education (ALE) can be used to address current challenges such as climate change, health and economic crises, technological shifts and population change. The aim was to gain a better understanding of the policies, measures and programmes that can be implemented to promote ALE.

Among the recommendations drawn from the symposium, we state the following:

• Develop the concept of literacy in Arab States in line with ALE requirements;

• Develop education plans based on the Marrakesh Framework in Arab States,

• Organize an Arab high-level conference to agree on common ALE policies based on the Marrakesh Framework;

• Stay up to date with new, avant-garde knowledge and technologies;

• Develop ALE and literacy evaluation and assessment systems and mechanisms, harnessing available models; and

• Establish a new Arab education social contract, including ALE.

For more information: ALECSO implements regional consultative symposium on “Literacy and the Transformation of Adult Learning and Education”