The future learning agenda is fraught with uncertainty. This opening article attempts to pose broad societal questions that determine the learning agenda-setting as well as the emergence of new knowledge paradigms. It begins with a quick overview of the futures of learning agenda. Then, it moves on to depict the value chain that departs from industrial societies to reach post-knowledge learning societies, including a tentative explanation of the constitutive role of technology in such a transition. As a consequence, three scenarios leading to a learning society are offered. In the following section, the article discusses the related evolution taking place in delivery strategies that are moving up the ladder from ODL methods to flexible and new learning solutions. The article advances a proposal of a new social contract combining the right to education with the duty of learning. This 21st century social contract serves both the goal of a more equitable distribution of knowledge and also that of a more inclusive learning society. A final section provides the outline of the whole issue, as well as summaries of each specialised contribution comprised in the present publication.