This publication of collected papers resulted from the International Experts Meeting held November 15-17, 2004. Commonwealth of Learning, 2005. Foreword The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) believes that marrying literacy and livelihoods is an important step in tackling the poverty reduction targets of the Millennium Development Goals. This is the principle behind a new COL programme that will benefit both young people and older people alike. Literacy is understood in two ways. The first embraces the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, popularly referred to as the three Rs. The second and more recent concept of literacy stresses the competencies that enable those with minimal or no formal education to improve their chances of gainful employment.