Abstract
Most people think that Europe is already fully literate, and that the low level of literacy applies only to the third- world regions. According to reports from the European Union, however, one in fi ve European 15-year-olds and almost 55 million adults lack basic literacy skills required to successfully function in a modern society.
Literacy needs to move up the European policy agenda. ELINET (European Policy Literacy Network) is a European network for the development strategy of literacy.
ELINET aims to provide the necessary expertise, resources and network of experts to achieve this goal. Almost everyone who has diffi culty in reading and writing, may improve if given the right support.
The aim of this theoretical study is to introduce the circum stances of ELINET, tools for literacy development, the vision of a fully literate reader in Europe, Declaration of Literacy Rights and the future use of the results for its development strategy.