This document describes the rationale and the strategy of the new United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Initiative for literacy: LIFE. The Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE) is designed as a global strategic framework through which national governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society, the private sector, UN agencies, and bilateral and multilateral agencies collectively revitalize and accelerate literacy efforts in countries where illiteracy poses a critical challenge. LIFE is a strategy for action to support basic education through promoting competencies in reading, writing and numeracy for the achievement of Education for All (EFA) and to substantially increase literacy learning opportunities within the framework of the United Nations Literacy Decade (UNLD). LIFE will be implemented in 35 countries with a literacy rate of less than 50 percent or a population of more than 10 million without literacy competencies. Presently 85 percent of the world's population without literacy competencies and life skills live in these countries, the majority of whom are women. LIFE will, therefore, aim to empower women and girls, in particular, who have inadequate literacy competencies. This report commences with a Message of the Honorary Ambassador to the United Nations Literacy Decade; Foreword; Executive Summary; and Literacy Initiative for Empowerment (LIFE). It then divides into nine sections: (1) Why LIFE?; (2) The Goals and Objectives of LIFE; (3) Strategic Areas for Action; (4) The Scope of LIFE; (5) Making It Happen: The Activities of LIFE; (6) Implementation; (7) Funding; (8) Monitoring and Evaluation; and (9) Annexes. Annexes include: (1) Countries of Priority (35 Countries); and (2) Logical Framework. (Contains 12 footnotes.)