The Economist Educational Foundation

About Us

We are a small, ambitious and fast-growing charity that was set up from inside The Economist newspaper in 2012. Our mission is to tackle inequality by giving disadvantaged young people the skills to think for themselves about current affairs.

We provide outstanding multimedia news content for young people, and we support teachers to use this content to stimulate discussions between their students. These discussions enable disadvantaged young people to develop tools that can change their chances: knowledge of issues affecting their lives, critical thinking skills, literacy and confidence.

We believe that producing news for a diverse young audience is a uniquely powerful way to achieve the mission of good journalism:

-Inform: Young people have too few sources of accurate, in-depth information about serious issues that affect their lives. Our content blends journalistic and teaching techniques to make complex issues accessible.

-Stimulate thought: Reach people whose minds are open to new ideas. Produce content that helps ensure future generations have the skills to see past fake news, poor arguments and polarised debates. You can be sure of thoughtful engagement with the content you produce, as it will be delivered by trained teachers and used to stimulate cross-community conversations online.

-Help to hold power to account: Support disadvantaged and marginalised people to engage with current affairs and find their voices, by inspiring them early.