Chapter 1 – Introducing lifelong learning: An integrated approach to sustainable development

Guiding questions

1. What are the core elements of UNESCO’s understanding of lifelong learning?
2. How does lifelong learning contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development?
3. What are the major trends affecting the world, and how do they constitute arguments for the promotion of LLL?

This first chapter of the handbook presents LLL as an integrated policy to promote sustainable development. It starts by unpacking the fundamental features of LLL as a concept while establishing its significance for the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The chapter then provides a series of arguments for the promotion of LLL – categorized according to major trends affecting the world – with the aim of providing policy-makers with an evidence-based rationale for placing LLL firmly on their national agendas.