At the beginning of the 21st century, there are still 781 million illiterate people in the world (UNESCO, 2015). If we take literacy in its broadest sense to mean the ability to successfully navigate today’s world, then the term illiteracy takes on an even broader meaning in more developed countries, encompassing even more adults for whom even an approximate number cannot be determined. When it comes to literacy and literate people, new dimensions emerge - enough, not enough, literate enough in their personal environment but not literate enough to hold certain positions in their home village, not literate enough to develop in a big city or abroad, and so on. Adult literacy is an important prerequisite for successful employment and greater financial resources, for raising one’s own children, for more successful socialization, and even for maintaining health while avoiding poverty, exclusion, and gender inequality. Although literacy is often considered only as human capital, necessary and beneficial for competing for skilled labour, and as an important factor in increasing a country’s global competitiveness, it can be said that almost every major social problem is affected in one way or another by low literacy, and that literacy is essentially responsible not only for economic but also for virtually everyday social problems.Tyrimą finansavo Lietuvos mokslo taryba (Nr. S-MIP-20-33)
