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In November 2021, the International Commission on the Futures of Education issued a report titled “Reimagining our futures together: A new social contract for education” following a two-year worldwide consultation and reflection facilitated by UNESCO. As a successor to the 1972 Faure Report “Learning to be: The world of education today and tomorrow” and 1996 Delors Report “Learning: The treasure within”, the Futures of Education Report provides insight on how we should renew education to shape more just and sustainable futures. Describing the aims of the Report, H.E. Ms Sahle-Work Zewde, President of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and Chair of the International Commission, has said, “Our hope is that the proposals this report presents – as well as the public dialogue and collective action it calls for – will serve as a catalyst to shape futures for humanity and the planet, that are peaceful, just and sustainable.”

Current educational models - characterized by knowledge transmission by teachers at school - were designed and developed when the average human lifespan was much shorter than 50 years, and information and communication technology and social changes were progressing at a pace less rapid than is the case today. In the present day, learning must continue throughout an individual’s lifetime.

Education must also now be rethought to help respond to urgent and unprecedented new challenges such as the climate crisis, the emergence of generative AI technologies, the continued growth of inequalities, and the persistence of conflicts. To cope with these challenges, we need to take a long-term perspective on how education can help shape more inclusive, just and sustainable futures. And, while conditions in each Member State are unique, the educational issues we need to consider as we aim to shape our collective futures are not specific to one country or context. Solutions can be found when Member States come together and engage in a collaborative dialogue to address these shared challenges.

This collaborative effort becomes crucial as we reflect on the three essential questions posed to education by the Futures of Education Report – “What should we continue doing?”, “What should we abandon?” and “What needs to be creatively reimagined?”. Sharing and learning from the wealth of more specific and contextualized responses to these questions is key in our collective efforts to renew education to transform the future.