{"id":6706,"date":"2026-04-22T13:36:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:36:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/?p=6706"},"modified":"2026-04-22T13:36:04","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T13:36:04","slug":"multiply-possibility-why-financing-education-must-include-lifelong-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/2026\/04\/multiply-possibility-why-financing-education-must-include-lifelong-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Multiply Possibility: Why Financing Education Must Include Lifelong Learning"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>At a time of growing inequality, democratic fragility, and global uncertainty, one investment remains fundamental to just and sustainable societies: <strong>education across the lifespan<\/strong>.<\/p><p>The <em>GPE Multiply Possibility Financing Campaign<\/em> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalpartnership.org\/\">https:\/\/www.globalpartnership.org\/<\/a>) highlights the urgent need to scale up education financing globally. For ICAE and its members, this is a critical moment to ensure that <strong>adult learning and education (ALE)<\/strong> is fully recognised as part of the solution (see also the campaign advocacy toolkit ).<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Education multiplies possibility\u2014throughout life<\/h2><p>Education is a powerful driver of inclusive growth, resilience, and social transformation. As outlined in the <em>GPE case for investment<\/em> (<a>https:\/\/www.globalpartnership.org\/impact\/case-investment<\/a>), even one additional year of schooling can significantly increase income and opportunity.<\/p><p>But focusing only on schooling is not enough.<\/p><p>Across the world, millions of adults are denied opportunities to develop basic skills, participate in democratic life, or adapt to rapidly changing labour markets. Without <strong>strong adult learning systems<\/strong>, the promise of education remains incomplete.<\/p><p>This is why ICAE\u2019s work on adult learning and education (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.icae.global\">https:\/\/www.icae.global<\/a>) continues to advocate for a <strong>lifelong learning perspective<\/strong>, where education is not limited to children and youth, but recognised as a <strong>continuous right and public responsibility<\/strong>.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Financing education is key to achieving SDG4<\/h2><p>The global education financing debate is inseparable from the commitment to SDG4 \u2013 inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all (<a href=\"https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\/goal4\">https:\/\/sdgs.un.org\/goals\/goal4<\/a>).<\/p><p>Yet, progress on SDG4 remains off track.<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>270 million children are out of school<\/li>\n\n<li>Millions of adults lack basic literacy and numeracy skills<\/li>\n\n<li>Public education systems are underfunded and under pressure<\/li><\/ul><p>At the same time, <strong>adult learning and education remains chronically underfunded and under-recognised<\/strong> in national and international financing frameworks.<\/p><p>ICAE calls for a shift in perspective:<\/p><p><strong>Financing education must mean financing lifelong learning systems\u2014including adult education, literacy, and community learning.<\/strong><\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">From GRALE to global action: the missing link is financing<\/h2><p>The Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) (<a>https:\/\/uil.unesco.org\/adult-learning-and-education\/global-report<\/a>) provides a critical evidence base: countries consistently highlight the importance of ALE for democracy, sustainability, and social cohesion\u2014yet investment remains insufficient.<\/p><p>This creates a clear political gap:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Strong recognition of ALE in policy discourse<\/li>\n\n<li>Weak commitment in <strong>public financing and implementation<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>The GPE campaign offers an opportunity to address this gap\u2014if lifelong learning is meaningfully included.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The role of civil society: shaping the agenda<\/h2><p>Civil society organisations are central to this moment.<\/p><p>They play a key role in:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Advocating for increased and equitable education financing<\/li>\n\n<li>Engaging governments and donors<\/li>\n\n<li>Mobilising public support and shaping narratives<\/li>\n\n<li>Holding decision-makers accountable<\/li><\/ul><p>For ICAE\u2019s global network, this means:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Bringing <strong>adult learners\u2019 voices<\/strong> into financing debates<\/li>\n\n<li>Advocating for <strong>literacy, basic education, and community learning<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li>Ensuring that <strong>no one is left behind\u2014not even after school age<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A call for integrated, just, and sustainable financing<\/h2><p>Sustainable education financing must go beyond short-term targets. It requires:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Strong <strong>public investment<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li>A commitment to <strong>equity and inclusion<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li>Recognition of education as a <strong>public good<\/strong>, not a market commodity<\/li>\n\n<li>Integration of <strong>formal, non-formal, and informal learning systems<\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p>Above all, it requires political will to move from rhetoric to action.<\/p><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">ICAE\u2019s call: Fund education. Fund lifelong learning.<\/h2><p>ICAE calls on governments, donors, and international partners to:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Support ambitious financing commitments to education<\/li>\n\n<li>Ensure that <strong>adult learning and education is fully integrated<\/strong> into financing frameworks<\/li>\n\n<li>Align investments with <strong>SDG4 and lifelong learning principles<\/strong><\/li>\n\n<li>Strengthen accountability through inclusive, participatory processes<\/li><\/ul><p>We also call on our members and partners to:<\/p><ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Engage in advocacy at national and global levels<\/li>\n\n<li>Contribute to GRALE-related processes<\/li>\n\n<li>Share stories of how learning transforms lives across the lifespan<\/li>\n\n<li>Join and amplify the campaign using #MultiplyPossibility (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.globalpartnership.org\/\">https:\/\/www.globalpartnership.org\/<\/a>)<\/li><\/ul><p>Because education does more than open doors.<\/p><p><strong>It multiplies possibility\u2014at every stage of life.<\/strong><\/p><p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>At a time of growing inequality, democratic fragility, and global uncertainty, one investment remains fundamental to just and sustainable societies: education across the lifespan. The GPE Multiply Possibility Financing Campaign (https:\/\/www.globalpartnership.org\/) highlights the urgent need to scale up education financing globally. For ICAE and its members, this is a critical moment to ensure that adult &#8230; <\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more-container\"><a title=\"Multiply Possibility: Why Financing Education Must Include Lifelong Learning\" class=\"read-more button\" href=\"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/2026\/04\/multiply-possibility-why-financing-education-must-include-lifelong-learning\/#more-6706\">Read more<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Multiply Possibility: Why Financing Education Must Include Lifelong Learning<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6706","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","lalita-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/2026-04-gpe-advocacy-toolkit.jpeg","post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post\/6706"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6706"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post\/6706\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6708,"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post\/6706\/revisions\/6708"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6706"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6706"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icae.global\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6706"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}