BALID is a UK-based NGO operating as a voluntary organisation under UK law. We are tasked with promoting adult, family and community literacy and numeracy as a basic human right, in the context of international development.

BALID brings together practitioners and academics – literacy and language experts, students, early career scholars, NGO staff and policy consultants – in order to explore what this understanding of literacy might mean for social change and community empowerment. For more than a decade we have organised our lively series of Informal Literacy Discussions (ILDs). We depend financially on our members: please do join us if you can.

We are a global community of people keen to explore the relationship between literacy and international development, particularly among adults.

BALID offers a platform for effective dialogue between organisations and individuals who believe that sharing experiences about learning and literacy can enrich the lives of workers and citizens, whether in low-, middle- or high-income countries.