The notion "literacy" is changing to encompass the concept of "multiple literacies". There are various forces, especially social and cultural forces, that are used to determine the definition of literacy and in this new millennium one can merely predict which possible cultural forces will now shape the nature of literacies. In South Africa there are various cultural forces such as the growing influence of technology at work which might influence literacies in future. It is important that higher education in South Africa should take cognisance of these cultural forces, in order to empower people who want to further their tertiary studies. These cultural forces include: growth in technology; integrating the use of technology into the curriculum; the need for updated information; teacher training and literacy instruction; the need to empower students, and the need to prepare students for future workplaces.