A global thematic study on literacy and adult education considered trends and innovations particularly salient during the World Conference on Education for All (WCEFA) decade. According to the most recent UNESCO statistics, world illiteracy rates dropped over the last 20-30 years because of increased primary school enrollments, yet the actual number of people with low literacy remained relatively constant, due to population growth. Of the estimated 887 million illerates in 2000 (27 percent of the adult population in developing countries), the majority were women. Innovative ways of meeting learner needs, while enhancing motivation, were language policy and planning; empowerment and community participation; learning, instruction, and materials design; gender and family; multi-sectoral connections; post-literacy and income-generation; and technology and distance education. A major need was identified to develop systems and capacities that enable administrators, teachers, and tutors to engage in professional staff training and development as an ongoing process and to link staff development more closely with service improvement and evaluation/monitoring. Many agencies provided support for literacy and adult education. A future challenge was for literacy and adult education to focus on which kinds and what levels of literacy are required for each society and societal group. (Appendixes contain 56 references, 3 tables, and 8 figures.) (YLB)