Lifelong learning for the African to become a twenty-first century person in the global system

Abstract

The Dakar Conference on Education organized by UNESCO in 1972 led to the formation of a commission on education chaired by Edgar Faure. In 1996 the commission released what later on became known as Delores' Report on Education as a framework or philosophy on which member countries of UNESCO could base their education systems. The framework consists of four basic principles: Learning to be, Learning to know, Learning to do and Learning to live together. This article discusses how to learn to become a person from the home, to the school and throughout life (lifelong Learning) in Africa. The focus is on Africa because it is one continent where education does not seem to be making a significant impact, as it is doing in other parts of the world - preparing the people to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. © 2009 SAGE Publications.