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Family Literacy Global Peace Initiative

Today, there are family literacy initiatives undertaken by governments, NGOs, UN Member States, academia, the private sector, and the UN system, including UNESCO and UNICEF. A systematic analysis of the family literacy initiatives undertaken by UN Member States indicates that family literacy is used in most countries in ways that are in keeping with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Most importantly, family literacy initiatives are used to promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies. The focus of family literacy initiatives on many of the other Sustainable Development Goals is also both remarkable and profound.

Family Literacy Today.

Family Literacy Global Peace Initiative.

Family literacy initiatives are ubiquitous in the U.S., Canada and many countries in Europe, and in many economically advantaged countries family literacy programs are available for refugees and economic migrants, especially mothers and children learning new languages and life skills so that they can survive and thrive in the new places that have become their home. Similarly, countries such as Afghanistan, Nepal, and Sub Saharan Africa offer village based family literacy programs, which seek to develop literacy in the context of community needs such as health, employment and family planning. In some countries family literacy initiatives are designed to reduce gender inequality and family violence, while in other countries family literacy programs focus on the amelioration of psychological and emotional traumas resulting from armed conflict and the support of family members physically disabled by war.

A systematic analysis of the family literacy initiatives undertaken by UN Member States indicates that family literacy is used in most countries in ways that are in keeping with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Most importantly, family literacy initiatives are used to promote just, peaceful and inclusive societies. The focus of family literacy initiatives on many of the other Sustainable Development Goals is also both remarkable and profound, briefly: (G 1) End poverty in all its forms everywhere; (G 2) End hunger, achieve food security; (G 3) Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being;(G 4) Ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning; (G. 8) Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all; (G. 10) Reduce inequality within and among countries; (G. 13) Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts; (G. 14) Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources; (G. 15) Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss; and (G.16) Revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development.

Family Literacy Today.

Family Literacy Global Peace Initiative.

In step with the UN Sustainability Goals, the main focus for Denny Taylor at this time is the re-engagement of families, schools and communities with the physical world.

Her field research with families living in regions of armed conflict and catastrophic events has led to deep analysis of the interconnections between: (1) human enterprise; (2) climate change and extreme weather events; (3) ecological crises; (4) economic crises; (5) extreme wealth; (6) extreme poverty; (7) armed conflict; and (8) public health emergencies. This is the research that has convinced her that great transformations in the relationships between people and the planet can be achieved through collective action.

The fact that the concept of “family literacy” has had such a global impact is compelling. There is no doubt that supporting families is absolutely essential and urgently required to achieve the massive transformations that must take place.

It is from this perspective that Denny Taylor is convinced that family literacy can become a universally accepted global conduit for advancing fairness and justice for the most vulnerable people, be a powerful tool in the eradicating poverty and inequality, and provide opportunities for people of diverse backgrounds and experiences to hold true to shared values and principles for human existence on the planet.

Thus the clarion call for war so often heard today is met here with a clarion call for peace – a radical shift to transform human societies based on a shared commitment of all people to unite through family literacy to save our children and make the planet a child safe zone.

"Fieldwork on Children and Armed Conflict."

“Family Literacy in U.N. Member States Has Become A Conduit for Sustaining Peace”

"Using Literacy to Respond to Catastrophes."

Family Literacy Global Peace Initiative Report Downloads.

U.N. HLPF 2019 & the Family Literacy Declaration of Principles

It is a moral imperative and an ethical responsibility that the U.N. work closely with NGOs and civil society to ensure global, regional and local initiatives that create safe, resilient and sustainable local communities, to foster greater involvement and local participation, and by so doing, make every effort to reclaim the human rights of families – especially women and children who are trying to cope with abusive circumstances in their struggle to survive.

U.N. Family Literacy and the Future of Humanity

Fostering a focused discourse on the mitigation of global catastrophic risks will require hearts and minds united in compassion, empathy and trust at the species level to take on the daunting challenge of safeguarding families, their communities, and their countries to ensure the survival of humanity. 

How Family Literacy in U.N. Member States Has Become A Conduit for Sustaining Peace

Family literacy is at the heart of many global peace initiatives and, given that human rights, environmental sustainability and conflict prevention are inextricably linked, it makes eminent sense to locate peacebuilding efforts in family settings to ameliorate the often violent circumstances in which families live their everyday lives. 

Family Literacy Provides an Effective Response to the U.N. SDGs and Peacebuilding Architecture

This paper is grounded in: 1) forty years of successful family literacy initiatives undertaken by U.N. Member States, NGOs, and academia; 2) a meta-analysis of these initiatives that has identified connections between the U.N. Peacebuilding Architecture and the global impact of family literacy on peacebuilding and the SDGs. The concept of “family literacy” originates in my 1970s research and is supported by four decades of peer-reviewed family literacy research. The concept is grounded in the recognition that the family is the originating and only organizing principle that all people share, and that all other divisions are secondary.