Paulo Freire and the fight against illiteracy in Guinea-Bissau: the national adult literacy and education campaign

Abstract

This article was elaborated within the framework of the centenary commemorations of Paulo Freire, a great Brazilian educator whose contributions go beyond Brazil, reaching several countries on the African continent, including Guinea-Bissau. In this country, Freire took an active part in organizing the new education sought after by the country after gaining independence, notably in the organization and implementation of the National Campaign for Adult Education and Literacy, one of the weapons undertaken in the struggle to eradicate illiteracy. This is a qualitative research, case study type, descriptive, in which this contribution was observed, registered and analyzed. It was found that despite Freire's great effort in this campaign, it did not meet all expectations due to the fact that, among other things, there is not an appropriate teaching language for the population to be able to appropriate knowledge; the political military conflicts that ravaged the country, among others. Even so, it should be noted that this educational work should continue for being a broadcaster, based on meeting the people through dialogue, as a methodological instrument that allows a critical reading of reality, starting from the language of the people, a tool for the struggle for liberation of the oppressed, a method of education that values ​​the knowledge of the people and their cultural realities in the construction of new emancipatory knowledge.