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...

Responding to and recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic remains an enormous challenge for cities worldwide. Lifelong learning lays the foundation for healthy and resilient cities. Hence, these municipalities are working hard to promote learning for health, and to build long-term resilience among their local populations so that they can deal both with the pandemic and with future emergencies, including those caused by climate change.

The fifth International Conference on Learning Cities (ICLC 5) was hosted by UIL in collaboration with Yeonsu City, Republic of Korea, and took place...

The publication Inclusive lifelong learning in cities: Policies and practices for vulnerable presents conceptual frameworks for inclusive learning, good practices in learning cities and recommendations for the future.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an enormous impact on life in cities, as well as exposing and exacerbating almost all forms of inequality. Access to high-calibre, resilient infrastructure, reliable basic services and decent jobs must be provided to all urban and rural dwellers. achieving this means ensuring learning opportunities in cities are of high quality...

Between March and June 2020, UIL hosted a series of webinars to explore how learning cities gauged the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in individual contexts, and how they were responding to the sudden, emergent and urgent challenges it posed. In this publication, we present 13 responses by learning cities to this unfolding global issue across five themes: city planning; continuation of education; culture; equity and inclusion; and public health. These snapshots span the world regions of Africa (Cameroon), Asia and the Pacific (China, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Republic of Korea),...

A new UNESCO issue note , produced by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), aims to support education policy-makers and planners in utilizing the power of non-formal and informal learning to respond to the COVID-19 crisis. It explains lessons learned and suggests concrete measures for action.

In almost all countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, cities are the epicentres of infection and the frontlines for dealing with the vast...

A new UNESCO issue note , produced by the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL), aims to enhance higher education institutions’ engagement with local communities in the context of the current pandemic, now and in its aftermath. It addresses education policy-makers and planners as well as professionals in the higher education sector, suggesting concrete measures and encouraging them to take action.

Most of the higher education institutions (HEIs) around the world have been forced to close their premises and...

Embracing a culture of lifelong learning, UIL’s contribution to the UNESCO International Commission on the Futures of Education, argues that creating a global culture of lifelong learning will be key to addressing the challenges faced by humanity, from the climate crisis to technological and demographic change, not to mention those posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the inequalities it has exacerbated.

Drawing on the input of 12 distinguished experts from different disciplines and countries, the report reflects on the potential contribution of lifelong learning both in...

The publication Global inventory of regional and national qualifications frameworks 2019 – Volume II: National and regional cases gathers information on progress in establishing national qualifications frameworks (NQFs), as well as the challenges and success factors in implementation. It shows how countries around the globe are reforming their education systems by improving the quality and relevance of their qualifications. Volume II comprises more than 100 country chapters, from all the continents, plus seven world regions chapters. The country chapters describe the characteristics and...

A national qualifications framework (NQF) is an instrument used to classify a country’s qualifications at different levels. Each level is defined by a set of learning outcomes expected at that level. NQFs can be useful tools in education and training reforms and are vital reference points for lifelong learning and comparing qualifications across borders.

The Global Inventory of Regional and National Qualifications frameworks 2019, Volume I: Thematic chapters comprises six thematic chapters, charting developments in national and regional qualifications frameworks worldwide...

Since the start of the Syria crisis in 2011, millions of Syrian children and young people have sought refuge in neighbouring Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. It is estimated that around 50 per cent do not attend school. Host governments and other stakeholders see non-formal learning as an alternative way of providing them with the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and survive following displacement. But they also face a significant challenge in creating systems that recognise both the non-formal learning of Syrian refugees and the learning, qualifications and life experience...