The complexities of modern life demand adaptability – populations that are resilient, open to change and willing to engage in learning throughout life. increased mobility, population displacement, the climate crisis, technological change, threats to global health and demo-cratic systems, and new patterns of production and consumption affect, in different ways, all countries in the world. lifelong learning (lll) repre-sents an effective and potentially transformational means of addressing many of these challenges.

This handbook provides information, evidence and basic conceptual...

The main challenge for adult learning and education across the globe is to reach those who need it most. This is the key message of UNESCO’s Fifth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE 5).

UNESCO’s report...

Download the executive summary here.

In preparation of the Seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII), in Marrakech, Morocco, in June 2022, a series of regional conferences took place between February and September 2021. This document provides a synthesis of the outcomes of these events. The regional outcome documents identified current concerns, priorities and recommendations for CONFINTEA VII. This synthesis of the regional outcome documents will contribute to the Marrakech Framework for Action (MFA), the main outcome document of CONFINTEA VII, and guide all relevant ALE stakeholders and UNESCO...

In 2021, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) worked tirelessly to support UNESCO Member States and further partners in realizing lifelong learning opportunities for all. 2021 was a year of transition. The development of the UIL Medium-Term Strategy 2022–2029 was an important moment to reflect on past achievements and reassess what needs to be done to further strengthen lifelong learning over the next eight years. Our mission for the time ahead is to support Member States in building learning ecosystems that work across life, in every setting and benefit everyone, including,...

The 2021 Futures of Education report calls for a new social contract for education, with recognition of an extended right to education throughout life. It represents an important restatement of the principles of UNESCO, and particularly its historic focus on our shared humanity, the universal right to education and its rich potential in addressing social, economic and political challenges. The need for a formal recognition of a universal entitlement to lifelong learning was also highlighted in the United Nations Secretary General’s Common Agenda report (also published in 2021) and is...

Given that the promise to ‘leave no one behind’ (LNOB) is central to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its goals (UNSDG, 2022), it is crucial to promote lifelong learning in sub-Saharan Africa, with a particular focus on young people and adults, and on marginalized and/or vulnerable groups. Illiteracy, low levels of education and a lack of lifelong learning opportunities across the region are strongly linked to low productivity, low incomes and poor health, particularly in combination with latent conflicts and insecurity linked to terror, migration and other human and...

The region is facing increasing challenges in the field of literacy and adult education due to the political instability that affects some of the countries, resulting in waves of migration. International and regional organizations are providing continuous support to countries of the region to help them build responsive policies and systems of good governance in the field of education in general, and in the fields of adult learning and education as well as lifelong learning in particular.

In preparation for the Seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII),...

The Regional CONFINTEA VII Conference for Asia and the Pacific was held virtually on 22 September 2021. 237 participants from countries across the region attended, including ministry of education officials, NGOs, national and regional education representatives, academia, the private sector, and adult learning and education/lifelong learning stakeholders. This outcome document was developed based on the discussions held and contributions made during the conference.

Asia and the Pacific is home to one third of the world’s population, including more than 60 per cent of the world’s...

In preparation of the seventh International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA VII), the Slovenian Ministry for Education, Science and Sport and the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) organized a dual online conference entitled ‘Adult learning and education – The resilient response to future challenges’.

The Europe and North American region is a diverse one, geographically, economically, politically, socially, ethnically, linguistically and culturally. Countries in the region do, however, have one demographic characteristic in common: an ageing population. Young...