International Literacy Year (1990), sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is a time of great hope and unique opportunity. It is intended to convey two essential messages: (1) education matters and will be decisive in shaping the future of individuals and societies; and (2) there is an urgent need for cooperation and solidarity among peoples and countries in order to ensure the right to education--and a future--for all people on earth. Although the year will be filled with numerous and varied events and projects, these two messages give it purpose; its success will be determined by the degree to which these messages are understood and acted upon. In the past decade, educational gains have been harder to achieve, and in some developing nations, the progress of the 1960s and 1970s is threatened. The richer nations must share more of their resources to help the poorer nations, and the developing nations must make education their greatest priority. International Literacy Year is a starting point for literacy activity, not a celebration of it. UNESCO stands ready to help in any way it can to aid all nations to develop the education of their people. (KC)