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.
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.
Topical Talk Festival
We run Topical Talk Festival: the world’s biggest news festival for children.
For seven weeks, 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.
Topical Talk Prizes
We publish collections of resources that culminate in competitions. These give children the chance to have their opinions heard on the topics that matter most to them. They can submit work to win feedback from Economist journalists as well as prizes for themselves and their school.
Communities
We support groups of schools in a community to implement regular discussions about the news. Communities receive bespoke teacher-training, ongoing support and help to assess the critical-thinking and communication skills that Topical Talk develops.
Contact our Teacher Engagement and Development Lead to learn more:
[email protected]
“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 reportsOur 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