Abstract
This joint ILO-UNESCO paper presents the results of an international literature review of how countries have introduced systems and initiatives to provide individuals with an entitlement to lifelong learning. It seeks to establish what is meant by an ‘entitlement’, and how that can be interpreted in the context of lifelong learning. The report responds to the growing international policy interest in the implementation of lifelong learning and reviews national policies and practices that attempt to apply that principle. Drawing on the examples and the challenges involved, the report concludes by recommending a set of key principles and conditions to be met and the challenges that will need to be overcome before a universal entitlement scheme can be implemented.