Reimaging Our Futures – A New Social Contract for Education
UNESCO have published a new report by the International Commission on the Futures of Education which looks at the power of education to bring about profound change.
Report Summary
Our humanity and planet Earth are under threat. The pandemic has only served to prove our fragility and our interconnectedness. Now urgent action, taken together, is needed to change course and reimagine our futures. We face a dual challenge of making good on the unfulfilled promise to ensure the right to quality education for every child, youth and adult and fully realizing the transformational potential of education as a route for sustainable collective futures. To do this, we need a new social contract for education that can repair injustices while transforming the future.
This new social contract must be grounded in human rights and based on principles of non-discrimination, social justice, respect for life, human dignity and cultural diversity. It must encompass an ethic of care, reciprocity, and solidarity. It must strengthen education as a public endeavour and a common good. This report, two years in the making and informed by a global consultation process engaging around one million people, invites governments, institutions, organisations and citizens around the world to forge a new social contract for education that will help us build peaceful, just, and sustainable futures for all.
The visions, principles, and proposals presented are merely a starting point. Translating and contextualizing them is a collective effort. Many bright spots already exist. This report attempts to capture and build on them. It is neither a manual nor a blueprint but the opening up of a vital conversation.
A report by ASPnet The Futures of Education: Perspectives and insights from the UNESCO Associated School Network helped to inform UNESCO’s latest education report.