Futures of Education
The Futures of Education
Our world is at a unique juncture in history, characterised by increasingly uncertain and complex trajectories shifting at an unprecedented speed. These sociological, ecological and technological trends are changing education systems, which need to adapt. Yet, no trend is destiny, and education has the most transformational potential to shape just and sustainable futures. UNESCO generates ideas, initiates public debate, and inspires research and action to renew education. This work aims to build a new social contract for education, grounded on principles of human rights, social justice, human dignity and cultural diversity. It unequivocally affirms education as a public endeavour and a common good.
Our work is grounded in the principles of the 2021 report “Reimagining Our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education” and in the report’s call for action to consolidate global solidarity and international cooperation in education, as well as strengthen the global research agenda to reinforce our capacities to anticipate future change.
Summary of the Report
The International Commission
In 2019 UNESCO Director–General convened an independent International Commission to work under the leadership of the President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, H.E. President Sahle-Work Zewde, and develop a global report on the Futures of Education. The commission was charged with carefully considering inputs received through the different consultation processes and ensuring that this collective intelligence was reflected in the global report and other knowledge products connected with the initiative.
Our work
Featured highlights
The report of the International Commission on the Futures of Education starts with the observation that our world is at a turning point due to multiple interlinked challenges, and that knowledge and learning are the basis for renewal and transformation.
- "Multiple alternative futures are possible (...) A new social contract for education needs to allow us to think differently about learning and the relationships between students, teachers, knowledge, and the world." (p3)
The report highlights a number of trajectories based on current data and projections, whilst offering reasons for hope in the future through the renewal of education...
- The global population is projected to reach a peak at around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s, nearly double the global population of 1990 (5.3 billion)
- There will be an estimated 170 million displaced people by 2050, equivalent to 2.3% of the global population
"The challenge of creating decent human-centered work is about to get much harder as Artificial Intelligence (AI), automation and structural transformations remake employment landscapes around the globe. At the same time, more people and communities are recognizing the value of care work and the multiple ways that economic security needs to be provisioned."
- Global temperatures are expected to increase 2.7 degrees by 2100, leading to devastating global consequences
- Humans currently use as as many ecological resources as is we lived on 1.75 Earths
"The planet is in peril but decarbonization and the greening of economies are underway. Here children and youth already lead the way, calling for meaningful action and delivering a harsh rebuke to those who refuse to face the urgency of the situation."
- Global freedom has been declining for more than 15 years
"There has been a flourishing of increasingly active citizen participation and activism that is challenging discrimination and injustice worldwide."
- Fake news travel 6 times faster than true stories via Twitter - such disinformation undermines a shared perception of truth and reality
"Digital technologies, tools and platforms can be bent in the direction of supporting human rights, enhancing human capabilities, and facilitating collective action in the directions of peace, justice, and sustainability (...) A primary educational challenge is to equip people with tools for making sense of the oceans of information that are just a few swipes or keystrokes away."
- Humans use as many ecological resources as if we lived on 1.75 Earths (Global Footprint Network)
- Global temperatures are expected to increase 2.7 degrees by 2100 (UNFCCC)
- Global freedom has been declining for more than 15 years (Freedom House)
- Fake news travel 6 times faster than true stories via Twitter (MIT)
- The global population is projected to reach a peak at around 10.4 billion people during the 2080s (UNDESA)
- There will be an estimated 170 million displaced people by 2050 population (World Bank)
* Figures correct as of 2023.
The 3rd in a series of major visioning exercises for education
Reimagining our future together: a new social contract for education is the third in a series of UNESCO-led once-a-generation foresight and visioning exercises, conducted at key moments of historical transition.
In 1972, the Learning to Be: the world of education today and tomorrow report already warned of the risks of inequalities, and emphasized the need for the continued expansion of education, for education throughout life and for building a learning society.
This was followed by the 1996 Learning: The treasure within report that proposed an integrated vision of education around four pillars: learning to be, learning to know, learning to do, and learning to live together in a lifelong perspective.
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