Literacy is the key to social and economic development. Around the world there are more than 3 billion illiterate youth and adults, many of whom either never attended school or who attended very poor schools in poor countries. The need for literacy has never been greater. In February 2003, the United Nations declared, for the first time, a UN Decade for Literacy. LEARN will work closely with agencies worldwide to help promote this new drive for global literacy, using the best of research-based innovations and new technologies.