This paper investigates what the COVID-19 pandemic has revealed about the resilience of cities’ communities and learning systems. In terms of community resilience, it explores issues of multi-sectoral planning as well as bottom-up citizen and NGO/CSO led practices and topdown policies and practice from national governments and regional/municipal administrations.

Regarding learning systems, this account focuses on the roles of local government, formal (schools, colleges, universities) and non-formal institutions of learning, including IGOs and NGOs/CSOs within the youth and adult education sectors as well as the learning in the workplace and initiatives coming from businesses and foundations. It considers the ways in which these actors have worked both independently, and together in networks of to ensure continued provision of pre-existing formal and non-formal learning during the crisis.

It also considers innovations, many collaborative between stakeholders, that have emerged during the pandemic, particularly with regard to the use of new technology, technology transfer and informal learning directed towards awareness raising and public health education. The paper is illustrated through case studies with a particular focus on municipalities that have declared themselves learning cities. A series of challenges for all actors and recommendations are made.