Imagining the futures for lifelong education under the “promissory legitimacy” of international organisations

During times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it becomes increasingly clear that anticipating and rethinking possible futures of education is a human and institutional necessity. However, the question arises as to whether it is only during times of crisis that we imagine or anticipate possible futures for education, when considering contemporary media coverage of everyday affairs but also recent academic literature concerned with the politics of the future by International Organizations (IOs) (Global Society, 36, 2022) or Reimagining adult education and lifelong learning for all (Benavot et al., 2022). Leading scholars like Dewey, Mezirow or Jarvis have written extensively on the necessity of reflecting on ‘imaginative futures’ as a crucial aspect for lifelong education. In a previous editorial we questioned IOs as ‘competent’ agents to shape lifelong education’s future (Hodge et al., 2021). In this editorial we further explore how futures of education are imagined, for what purpose and by whom – using UNESCO’s work as an example – to then consider the implications for lifelong education scholarship.