This article begins by looking at two reports, commissioned in the second half of the 20th century to investigate the impact of social change on education and to propose strategies for tackling new challenges arising from this. The first report, published in 1972, was the so-called Faure report (named after French lawyer and politician Edgar Faure), and the second one, published in 1996, was the so-called Delors report (named after French economist and politician Jacques Delors). Using these two reports as their starting point, the authors of this paper consider the effects of modern information technology on our cultural environment. Today we are experiencing an increasingly virtual world with very real effects. This paper argues that Edgar Faure already foresaw the emergence of a new cultural world in which virtuality would both add to and compete with reality. The authors stress that now, more than ever, access to lifelong education needs to be ensured for everyone, permanently enriched by research and innovation, addressing creativity and entrepreneurship, in addition to continuously evolving skills and competences.