However, it is for those excluded from the world of writing and written communication that International Literacy Day is most significant, for it symbolizes our collective commitment to address their literacy needs now and in the future.

According to recent global estimates, there are approximately 862 million non-literate people over the age of fifteen. The fact that we continue to quote more or less the same figure from year to year is a genuine cause for concern but it does not mean that no progress is being made. The Global Monitoring Report on Education for All (2002) points out that adult literacy has improved by 10 percentage points over the last 20 years, from 70 per cent in 1980 to 80 per cent in 2000. This is a significant advance, representing hundreds of millions of people who have gained access to literacy over that period.

The continuing high absolute numbers, however, indicate the scale of the literacy challenge remaining. They alert us that improved rates of literacy progress need to outpace population growth and make inroads into those parts of society where illiteracy is most deeply embedded. The latter tend to be groups that are harder to reach: women, particularly among minority groups and in rural areas; linguistic and cultural minorities; the very poor of urban and rural areas; and street children and adolescents who dropped out of school. To effectively address the literacy needs of such groups, not only innovative strategies but also proportionately more resources are required.

Of particular concern is the stubborn fact that two-thirds of those without access to literacy skills are women. This represents a denial of basic rights for the women themselves but it also constitutes a massive waste of capacity that poor countries and disadvantaged communities can ill-afford. There is abundant evidence that women make valuable contributions to all aspects of development. Literacy is vital for releasing women’s potential which, once tapped, becomes a tremendous force for improving their status and dignity and for enhancing their impact on family welfare, community development and positive social change. Thus, as revealed through its effect on women’s lives, literacy is a key to development, especially because it places people at the centre of the development process. In addition, literacy is a key to learning. It is the basis of lifelong learning which, in our fast-moving world of changing technology and increasing knowledge, bears the rich promise of a fresh start and a second chance.

On close inspection, literacy turns out to be a complex matter about which we still have much to learn. Ascertaining the scope and character of the problem of illiteracy is complicated by the use of different criteria of measurement and by the way in which varying contexts pose different challenges. The techniques of mass campaigns, for example, may be inappropriate for addressing residual pockets of entrenched disadvantage. Moreover, many countries, both developed and developing, are finding that rates of schooling are no sure guide to real levels of literacy in terms of who can and who cannot use the written word. As part of the EFA drive, UNESCO and other partners are developing new approaches which will assess the way people actually use literacy in their daily lives, thereby revealing the levels of literacy within the population.

This is a significant year for literacy. In February, the United Nations Literacy Decade (2003 – 2012) was launched. The Decade presents the challenge of doing things differently, of finding fresh ways to provide literacy opportunities, of giving the excluded the chance to participate. It also presents the challenge of sustaining our efforts over ten years as we work towards the goal of increasing global literacy levels by 50 per cent by 2015.

Governments, civil society and the international community agree on the seriousness of these challenges and on the need to act – that is not the problem. There is also agreement on the fact that literacy is part of the fundamental human right to education. The problem is to turn this agreement to practical effect through concrete commitments reflected in priorities, budgets, plans and implementation. Let us face this problem squarely as the United Nations Literacy Decade gains momentum – more than 800 million people are waiting.