Podcast The world is facing a learning crisis. Millions of children and young people are not developing the skills they need to break out of poverty. The growth of technology and the increasingly broad range of actors providing online learning means we can deliver learning opportunities anywhere, at any time. But more than half of the world’s children and young people are on the wrong side of the digital divide, limiting access to the same opportunities as their connected peers. The cost of inaction will be high. The World Bank estimates a loss of US$10 trillion in earnings over the lifetime of this generation of children and young people if urgent action is not taken to address the learning crisis. We urgently need to reimagine education. A modern education should build and accredit basic skills – reading, writing and math – as well as skills in problem-solving, creativity, critical thinking that young people need for work, to start a business and to engage productively in their communities. The availability and potential of technology means that digital learning should be part of a basic basket of essential services for every child and young person. This means connecting every child and young person – some 3.5 billion by 2030 – to world-class digital solutions that offer personalized learning to leapfrog to a brighter future. People Child education learning opportunities