Illiteracy hinders development, but literacy alone does not
automatically lead to development. Literacy programmes only
succeed if they change learners’ living conditions and enable
them to solve problems and accept responsibilities. Post-
literacy is therefore an indispensable part of literacy
programmes. Using the example of Mali, the author suggests what
form such post-literacy activities may take. Seydou Cisse is a
Programme Specialist at the Islamic Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (ISESC) in Rabat, Morocco. Post-literacy
in Mali In the view of UNESCO, post-literacy may be defined as
follows: “...all measures taken to enable the neo-literate to
put into practice the skills acquired and to increase the
knowledge obtained ... above all, by learning to learn and to
take decisions ... in the continuing process of development and
mastery of his environment”. (Final Report of the Meeting of
Experts on Post-literacy in Africa, Dakar, Senegal, UNESCO/
BREDA, 25-29 April 1977, p. 4) In reality, th