Fostering Learning Cities for Quality Education and Lifelong Learning

More and more people are moving and living in urban areas. In this light, cities have a significant role in providing opportunities for citizens to thrive equally and safely. This includes creating a supportive environment for quality education and lifelong learning. The UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities aims to foster collaboration between cities for this purpose.

City & Education

Over half of the world’s population currently lives in urban areas. As the number of city dwellers is predicted to rise over the years, cities must be able to provide an inclusive, safe, and healthy environment for their people to thrive. This includes clean air, safety for all, and accessible and supportive education systems.

Education is a critical aspect of achieving a better life. However, millions of children and adults are still deprived of education. UNESCO recorded 250 million children without school and around 771 million adults unable to read or write. This is where city governments must take part in ensuring that everyone has access to education.

In 2013, the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning initiated the UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities to foster social, economic, and sustainability collaboration in urban areas. Recently, the network welcomed 64 new members from 35 countries.

UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities

The UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities is an international network to support and accelerate lifelong learning and education. The network focuses on policy dialogue and peer learning to create partnerships, build capacity, and encourage progress in building learning cities.

In February 2024, 64 cities from 35 countries joined the network. There are 11 cities from Asia and the Pacific region, namely from Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea, and China. These cities were added to the network based on the recommendation of a jury of experts, proving that the cities show a strong commitment to lifelong learning and have a track record of good practices and policy initiatives.

One of the new members is Bangkok, Thailand. The city offers an open education program with various types of classes, festival-based modern learning, and tech volunteer programs. Meanwhile, the city of Nanjing in China offers parental capacity-building, agricultural education for local farmers, and community education with 940 specialist courses.

“Cities are key to transforming the right to education into a tangible reality for individuals of all ages. With the new admissions, the network now includes 356 member cities from all around the world that share know-how and pave the way for lifelong learning opportunities for 390 million citizens,” said Audrey Azoulay, the UNESCO Director-General.

Quality Education for All

People of all ages deserve access to quality education. With the knowledge of local context and circumstances, city governments have a critical role in shaping the education systems for their citizens to be inclusive, accessible, and beneficial. The UNESCO Global Network of Learning Cities is hoped to support the spirit of collaboration, knowledge exchange, and partnerships between cities worldwide to support the realization of sustainable development.

Editor: Nazalea Kusuma

Kresentia Madina

Reporter at Green Network Asia | Website | + posts

Madina is the Assistant Manager of Stakeholder Engagement at Green Network Asia. She holds a bachelor’s degree in English Studies from Universitas Indonesia. As part of the GNA In-House Team, she supports the organization's multi-stakeholder engagement across international organizations, governments, businesses, civil society, and grassroots communities through digital publications, events, capacity building, and research.