L'éducation au XXIe siècle. L'éducation pour tous tout au long de la vie

What is needed in response to the “third Industrial Revolution” currently under way is a new social contract which would be the counterpart of what the welfare state was to the second industrial age, except that – given the present trend toward globalization – this new social contract should benefit everyone and not a minority of the relatively fortunate.
To Jerôme Bindé, one of the essential elements in this new social contract is lifelong learning for all, as the only possible remedy for the appalling problems of literacy that affect not only the poor countries but also the so-called developed nations.
Yet these problems cannot be solved simply by extending systems of education based on the old models. We need to completely rethink what is taught and how it is taught, making the most of the latest technologies to promote distance education and access to knowledge for all. But it is important also to be aware of the danger that these technologies may themselves lead to new disparities, new forms of illiteracy, and that they will create a gulf between a minority of the “haves” with access to “the paradise of knowledge” and the “have-nots” consigned to the hell of educational ghettos.
In order to avoid this outcome and truly to allow everyone to benefit from education they need throughout their lives, and not just the basics at the beginning, it is necessary to rethink the delivery systems and promote distance education. The author offers various examples from both North (the Open University in Britain) and South (a Unesco project in nine developing countries).
As regards content, Jerôme Bindé stresses the need “to learn to learn” throughout life: “learn to know, to do, to be, but also to live with one another”. And while he emphasizes the usefulness of a basic education in certain disciplines (philosophy, history), he never misses an opportunity to insist that development and democracy ultimately depend on education and the constant fostering of human abilities.