Representatives from around the world met in Persepolis, 1975, at the invitation of the Iranian government for a symposium on literacy. A variety of topics were discussed, and a Declaration regarding fundamental matters affecting adult education was unanimously adopted. (LH)

In Latin America, Experimental Workshops on Theory of Organization and Enterprise Management focus on enterprise learning for disadvantaged, marginalized people. Its emphasis on skill acquisition regardless of participants' literacy level has more to offer than European-style entrepreneurship training. (SK)

The full text of the Declaration of Persepolis, adopted by the International Symposium for Literacy, is presented. The Symposium considers literacy to be not only the process of attaining reading, writing, and arithmetic skills, but also a contribution to the liberation and development of the human race. (LH)

Argues that adult educators should promote "feminine" values and devalue power, domination, consumerism, aggression, and violence. Suggests that conventional ways of thinking about development and literacy education perpetuate an unjust status quo. (SK)

Social divisions of gender, class, race, ethnicity, and religion constitute a structure of power disparities that influences the form and content of literacy programs in developing nations. Adult educators have a social responsibility to identify how literacy activities may be reinforcing unjust or unequal societies. (SK)

Reviews and quotes from United Nations and UNESCO policy and program statements made during the 1970's regarding strategies for adult education and development. (WL)

Women working in export processing zones in the Dominican Republic organized a union using a gendered approach and undertook organizational literacy strategies based on Freire's ideas. They developed community support services to combat oppression. (SK)

Contrasts the purposes and methods of government-sponsored literacy programs in Latin America, which seek to improve the lot of the poor by developing better skills, with those of popular education movements, which attempt to empower people to change social structures. (SK)