About us

We’re an independent charity that combines deep education knowhow with The Economist’s journalistic expertise.

We empower disadvantaged children with the knowledge and skills they need for these times of complex social and environmental challenges, misinformation and polarisation.

By supporting passionate teachers, we enable children to join inspiring discussions about the news which teach them to think critically, communicate effectively and understand the world.

“The children are tackling things they would have been frightened to tackle – the concepts and the understanding they have now has been beyond anything I have seen them be able to get to with other resources.”

TEACHER

Our innovative programme

High-quality discussions about the news empower children with knowledge and skills for the future. Our programme, Topical Talk, enables them to join these discussions in school and online.

Learn more about Topical Talk

Teaching resources

We create resources for teachers to have in-depth discussions about the news in their classrooms.

Resources are created by experienced teachers and world-class journalists, fact-checkers and senior editors. They enable children to have in-depth discussions about the big issues of our time.

Visit our dedicated resources website

Topical Talk Festival

We run Topical Talk Festival: the world’s biggest news festival for children.

For 6-weeks within a 9-week period, children have weekly classroom sessions and join international discussions online with each other and global topic experts.

They take part in live events and competitions, and build towards publishing their opinions in writing, audio journalism and film for the chance to win awards.

Visit the Topical Talk Festival website

Teacher development

We train teachers to facilitate high-quality discussions about the news with confidence.

And we support schools and groups of schools to implement these discussions regularly.

Contact our Teacher Engagement and Development Lead to learn more:
stephanieyoung@economist.com

“There is one student who struggles academically but when it comes to Topical Talk he comes to life.”

TEACHER

Our impact

We empower disadvantaged children with skills that can transform their lives.

Children who join Topical Talk discussions regularly can make five times more progress in creativity, problem-solving, listening with an open mind and speaking with confidence. These skills can change a child’s life: they’re linked to better outcomes from higher wages to improved wellbeing.

Children learn to use them to engage effectively with real-world issues affecting their lives and communities, setting them up to succeed in future work and as citizens in the modern world.

Read our impact reports

Our vision

Our mission is increasingly urgent, and we’re committed to scaling up globally and continuing to deepen our impact on children’s lives. Our vision is to reach a million children by 2026, with 100,000 of these having weekly news discussions and seeing transformative impact.

We’ll continue to work creatively and collaboratively with our partners to make this a reality, and if you share our mission and would like to come with us on this journey then we would love to hear from you.

Get in touch
We plan to reach a million children by 2026, with 100,000 of these having weekly news discussions and seeing transformative impact

Accolades:

Associations: