Taking adult literacy as the central theme, UNESCO and the OECD recently released two international reports: the Global Report on Adult Learning and Education, second edition (GRALE II) by UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) and the first results of the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) by the OECD in July and October this year. Although both reports aim at altering the behaviours and actions of governments towards adult learning and education, they present substantive differences in the way of constructing issues and identifying solutions. In fact, GRALE II suggests ’rethinking literacy’ and PIAAC offers ‘skills outlook’ for the 21^st century. This article presents the origins, objectives and differences of these two reports to help understand them and reflect on their policy implications.

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