UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL)

Description

The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) is a non-profit, policy-driven, international research, training, information, documentation and publishing centre of UNESCO. One of seven education institutes of UNESCO, UIL promotes lifelong learning policy and practice with a focus on adult literacy and adult education, especially for marginalized and disadvantaged groups.

UIL aims to support and interlink educational research, practice and policy in its areas of competence to make lifelong learning a reality and a benefit for individuals and societies worldwide. Aside from advocacy and networking, UIL provides technical support to Member States, including the development of institutional and organizational capacity for policy design, programme planning, management, implementation and monitoring and evaluation.

UIL works in close cooperation with UNESCO Headquarters, the regional, cluster and field offices of UNESCO as well as its sister institutes. Its Governing Board, which meets annually to review work performed and work plans, consists of 12 educationalists recruited worldwide and appointed by the Director-General of UNESCO. Among the 37 members of UIL’s workforce are education and social science researchers, librarians and publication staff along with administrative, secretarial and technical personnel from 19 different countries.

National / international impact

Through its Adult Learning and Education and Literacy and Basic Skills Programmes, UIL pursues the international coordination and monitoring of the CONFINTEA VI (Sixth International Conference on Adult Education) follow-up, which has inscribed literacy as the foundation of lifelong learning, and targeted support to those countries worldwide with the largest literacy challenges to develop their capacities for improved literacy policies and programmes.

On the basis of national progress reports, UIL will prepare the 2016 Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE III), with a focus on the wider benefits of adult learning and education. Concomitantly, UIL is engaged in research on adult literacy in Europe, and is member of the European Literacy Policy Network (ELINET) being a core member of Team 4 on adult literacy.