Sparking a timely global debate was precisely the goal of the International Commission, led by H.E. Ms Sahle-Work Zewde, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, that spent two years preparing the report, titled Reimagining our Futures Together: A New Social Contract for Education.
More than a million people – experts, young people and teachers but also civil society, government and economic actors – were tapped in the global consultation that informed it.
Reimagining Our Futures Together upholds the tradition of past landmark UNESCO reports that have structured education policies around the world. The Faure report, , in 1972, and the Delors report, , in 1996, are key references in the debate on learning. The report recommends an urgent, sweeping reform of education globally to repair past injustices and enhance our capacity to act together for a more sustainable future. The report finds that today’s teaching and learning methods are outdated and even counterproductive. Education could contribute so much more to creating just and peaceful societies, a healthy planet and shared progress that benefits us all. Instead, how we educate is in effect causing some of our difficulties to address today’s challenges.
As we face grave risks to the future of humanity and the living planet itself, we must urgently reinvent education to help us address common challenges. This act of reimagining means working together to create futures that are shared and interdependent.
What we need is a new social contract for education so that we can think differently about learning and the relationships between students, teachers, knowledge and the world. Forging this contract begins with a shared vision: it must be based on human rights; uphold the principles of lifelong quality education and of education as a public common good; and champion the role of teachers.
Looking to 2050 and beyond, the report considers the impact of digital technologies, climate change, threats to democracy, growing social inequalities and the uncertain future of work. It examines three critical questions on education: ‘What should we continue doing? What should we abandon? What needs to be creatively reinvented?’
Among its recommendations, it calls for pedagogies to emphasize cooperation and solidarity, and for curricula to shift towards ecological, intercultural and interdisciplinary learning. Public funding must be ensured, research and innovation encouraged.
This report is intended as an invitation to think and imagine, not as a blueprint. The questions it raises must be debated by countries, communities, schools and every kind of educational programme and system around the world. Since its publication, the report has already inspired various forms of dialogue and action.
