02.10.2026 advocacy, MFA

Adult Learning for a Changing World

To strengthen adult education worldwide and reinforce commitment to advancing adult learning and education (ALE), while recognising both its challenges and its important role in society, 142 UNESCO Member States adopted the Marrakech Framework for Action (MFA) in June 2022.

The framework provides a roadmap for policies and strategies to advance adult learning and education towards 2030 and beyond. It focuses on key areas including inclusive adult learning and education (ALE), gender equality, sustainability and climate action, global citizenship, digital environments, the future of work, and learning cultures. As part of the follow-up to the framework, UNESCO launched the data collection survey for the Sixth Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE 6), which is expected to be published in 2027. The report will provide evidence on progress and remaining challenges in adult education and help inform future policies aimed at building inclusive, resilient, and future-oriented adult learning systems worldwide.

The Framework emphasises that ALE has a crucial role to play as we face technological transformation, changing labour markets and increasingly complex global challenges, which require adults to continuously develop new knowledge and competences. EAEA’s previous work has already referred to this connection, including through the BILDUNG project, which highlighted how adult education and learning can provide long-term benefits by supporting adults in developing greater autonomy and in understanding and responding to the challenges facing society.

Four years on from the adoption of the 2022 MFA, we now identify three central issues that EAEA believes deserve more attention: basic skills education, the digitalisation of work and global responsibility.

Basic Skills Education

The European Commission defines basic skills as including literacy, mathematics, science, digital skills and citizenship. These skills aim to equip individuals with the knowledge and competences needed to navigate an increasingly complex society and participate fully in everyday life.

The OECD (2024) highlights a decline in literacy and numeracy proficiency among the least-educated segments of the population,.These disparities can have significant consequences, including increased risks of inactivity and unemployment, lower wages, and reduced well-being and civic participation. This is recently supported by the OECD report Navigating Life with Low Literacy and Numeracy (2026), which highlights that adults with weaker foundational skills tend to report poorer health and lower levels of life satisfaction. By providing adults with the knowledge, skills and confidence to participate in their communities, adult education can contribute to their overall well-being and help build more inclusive and resilient societies.

Digitalisation of work

In a changing world, digitalisation is becoming an essential competency adults need to participate fully in society, the economy, and the workplace. EAEA’s Manifesto for ALE in the 21st Century highlights several challenges associated with digitalisation, including the need to understand and use digital tools in everyday life and at work, the rapid pace of technological change, and unequal access to digital devices and services, which can leave some people behind. Digital competence is therefore becoming an increasingly important area for adult education, not only to support employability but also to promote autonomy and participation in society.

EAEA is addressing this challenge by working intensively over the last few years, with innovative EU-funded projects such as DigiFusE, AI4AL and ETHLAE. These projects aim to strengthen digital skills within the adult education sector and support adult educators and learners in responding to the opportunities and challenges that come with digitalisation.

Global responsibility

In ALE, global responsibility is linked to the central themes of global citizenship and sustainable development. It highlights the role of adult learning in equipping people with the knowledge and critical skills needed to understand and respond responsibly to social, environmental and global challenges. 

Global responsibility also encompasses environmental sustainability and the green transition. EAEA’s Manifesto for ALE in the 21st Century highlights environmental sustainability and the green transition as important areas for adult learning and education. While the transition brings significant challenges, adult education can also contribute to addressing them by providing adults with the knowledge, skills and competences and creating spaces for practical action and collective learning.

AdvocALE: pushing the MFA up on the agenda

Four years after the adoption of the Marrakech Framework for Action, the challenges highlighted above remain highly relevant, and there is still much to be done. With only four years remaining until 2030, there is an increasing need to strengthen efforts and ensure that adult education is equipped to respond to these challenges. This sense of urgency highlights why EAEA, along with the Swiss Federation for Adult Learning (SVEB)  and International Council for Adult Education (ICAE) are undertaking the AdvocALE project, co-funded by MOVETIA.

By empowering the ALE sector with the skills, knowledge and tools necessary to support the implementation of the MFA, AdvocALE seeks to help adult education stakeholders turn the Framework’s ambitions into practice and keep these priorities high on the agenda.

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Text: Amaya Gomezgil GabrielPhotos: Image from lisegagne - Getty Images

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