ANCEFA, FEMNET, PAALAE and PAMOJA made their appearance on the African scene, having a common struggle for quality education for all. These four African networks have decided to collaborate from a joint platform with a view to expressing their vision with a single voice so the African Platform for Adult Education was created in Dakar on 29th March 2008.
Why a Platform for Adult Education?
The world is going through a period of profound change. Inclusion and exclusion of different groups serves to maintain and aggravate injustice and instability and the degree to which people can influence change is directly linked to the quality of their education. Globally there are 774 million people over the age of 15 who are illiterate, including a staggering 40.3% of the population of Sub Saharan Africa. Disparities based on sex, ethnicity, caste or status persist, in parallel to a direct link between poverty and illiteracy. It is increasingly evident that illiteracy contributes to the spread of HIV and malaria, violence in all its forms, poverty and inequality between the sexes.
Current initiatives are insufficient to address the situation. Amidst growing demand for literacy and adult education campaigns, resources and activities remain concentrated on universal primary enrolment, leaving literacy and non formal education far behind. Resources allocated to literacy make up less than 1% of the education budget in most countries, and comprehensive adult education policies are rare. The enormity of the challenge requires policies that guarantee environments where individuals can develop and use literacy skills both for their own empowerment and enlightenment and to actively contribute to the social and economic development of their communities.
The aims and objectives of the platform are reflected in an action plan that focuses on preparation for CONFINTEA VI (The International Conference on Adult Education) that will take place in Belém Pará, Brazil from 19-22 May 2009.