PARIS, 20th March, 2026 (WAM) -- UNESCO works closely with countries to help them develop strategies, plans and regulations to assure the safe and beneficial use of digital technology in education, including artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
The International Day of Digital Learning, designated by UNESCO Member States in 2023, is an occasion to celebrate and share information about the many ways schools, teachers, learners and families are using digital technologies to improve education in line with national and international goals, while simultaneously taking steps to mitigate the considerable risks and challenges that these technologies introduce.
Ultimately, the International Day of Digital Learning is an opportunity for the education sector to set directions, define norms and share good practices related to digital learning.
"On this International Day, UNESCO calls on States, partners and the education community to join forces to make digital technology a tool for more accessible education that serves, first and foremost, the interests of people worldwide."
This year, International Day for Digital Learning focuses on building digital futures for public education.
The 2026 International Day for Digital Learning is an invitation to showcase where and how countries, provinces, and school districts are building – and using – digital commons to strengthen public education and improve its outcomes.
In line with the 2026 theme, UNESCO, together with UNICEF and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), launched the Charter for Public Digital Learning Platforms on the International Day. The UNESCO-UNICEF-ITU Charter puts forward normative guidance to help public authorities steer the design, governance and continuous refinement of public digital learning platforms. It provides a roadmap to help uphold and expand the right to education, position digital learning platforms as a public good, and strengthen inclusion, equity and resilience in education systems.
The landmark Charter provides a framework to help governments design, build and govern public digital learning platforms that put teachers’ and learners’ needs first.
The Charter arrives at a decisive moment for digital learning. Around the world, hundreds of millions of children and young people are still not achieving minimum learning levels. Without coordinated and sustained support, they risk exclusion from the digital systems – and the lifelong learning opportunities they enable – that increasingly underpin modern education.
Despite this growing digital divide and global learning crisis, education funding is declining. According to UNICEF, Education funding faces a US$3.2 billion decline by 2026, placing millions of children’s futures at risk.
At the same time, the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), generative chatbots – alongside a proliferation of EdTech tools, many of which sit behind paywalls – is profoundly reshaping how teachers teach, how children learn, and how today’s children are prepared for the future. Without urgent, principled action, the digital transformation of education risks fragmenting public systems and deepening inequality rather than strengthening resilience and inclusion.