East Timor's national literacy campaign and the struggle for a post-conflict democracy

Title
East Timor's national literacy campaign and the struggle for a post-conflict democracy
Publication Date
2008
Author(s)
Boughton, Robert G
( author )
OrcID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7724-7162
Email: rboughto@une.edu.au
UNE Id une-id:rboughto
Editor
Editor(s): A M Vicziany, Robert Cribb
Type of document
Conference Publication
Language
en
Entity Type
Publication
Publisher
Australasian Asian Studies Association (ASAA)
Place of publication
online
UNE publication id
une:5571
Abstract
In Timor-Leste, the majority of the country's adults have had little or no schooling. The illiteracy rate nationally, according to the 2004 Census, was 46%, and was much higher among older people, women and people in rural areas. The paper analyses the context, origins and achievements of first twelve months of Timor-Leste's national literacy campaign, which was launched in the midst of the 2006 political violence by the previous FRETILIN-led government, supported by a team of Cuban technical advisers. It explores the way the political crisis and the literacy campaign interacted, as powerful forces combined to undermine the radically egalitarian thrust of the campaign. It concludes that, unless the momentum of the campaign is regained by the new AMP government which took power in June 2007, illiteracy will continue to undermine the prospects for Timor-Leste's independent development.
Link
Citation
Proceedings of the 17th Biennial Conference of the ASAA (Australasian Asian Studies Association)
ISBN
9781876924676

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