This is an English translation of a speech held by French economist and politician Jacques Delors, former President of the European Commission, on 7 November 2011 at the opening of the International Congress on Lifelong Learning in Donostia/San Sebastián, Spain. Fifteen years after the International Commission on Education for the Twenty-first Century submitted its report entitled "Learning: The treasure within" to UNESCO, Delors briefly reviews the four pillars of education and then considers the current growth of continuing education, its primary functions and general trends. Next, he discusses how basic education and continuing education might be combined into a lifelong learning approach. This is followed by some thoughts about the educational society and the challenges of current changes it is facing which include the challenge of globalisation, the phenomenon of contemporary individualism, the influence of the media and modern technologies and the dominant economic (market-orientated) ideology. Delors concludes his speech by stressing that lifelong learning is essential for gaining self-esteem and the ability to take control of one's own life.