BACKGROUND
Acknowledging the importance of Asia-Europe level exchange of practices, ASEF, the Ministry of Education and Training of Viet Nam and Hanoi Open University with the support of Hanns Seidel Foundation organised this conference to contribute to the Incheon Declaration “Education 2030: Towards inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all” and the Asia-Europe Meetings’ (ASEM) Education Process. The main goal of the event is to foster ASEM cooperation in achieving the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially Goal 4. Quality Education, by promoting regional cooperation and sharing best practices on lifelong learning.
The conference builds on the outcomes of the 6th ASEF Rectors’ Conference and Student’s Forum in Singapore, 12-13 October 2017 and the ASEM Conference on Innovative Education and Human Resource Building for Sustainable Development in Hue, Viet Nam, 29-31 March 2017; and the 4th Asia-Pacific Meeting on Education 2030 (APMED4).
THE TOPIC
This conference engaged people from Asia and Europe and promote exchange of information, practices, institutional policies, relevant research at national, regional and international level. The topic “flexible learning pathways” is examining how could traditional education systems adapt to the needs of economy from 3 angels:
- Flexibilisation of degrees: Recognition of informal and non-formal education/learning and prior learning as credits within degree programs, enabling learners to accumulate learning, experiences and qualifications through flexible participation at different stages.
- Flexibilisation of curricula and of learning content: Meeting the needs of non-traditional learners in their various life contexts (adult retraining, skills upgrading, dropouts, women and mothers, etc.), and design responsive learning programmes to their demands.
- Fexibilisation of methodology and learning design: Offering self-organised learning programmes in various forms, adopting learner-centred pedagogy, supported by information and communication technology (ICT) and open educational resources.
OBJECTIVES
- Add value to the ASEM Education Process by contributing to theory & practice-based activities connected with ASEF Education flagship projects, linking our focus areas of lifelong learning, sustainability and access to education
- Reinforce the multi-stakeholder approach of the ASEM Education Process by engaging education leaders and practitioners, academics, IOs and NGOs, national governments, business and industry experts in education policy dialogues
- Strengthen the existing LLL network between Asia and Europe and expand it by attracting new members and partners, including from business and industry
- Promote the importance of LLL as part of SDG4 across the ASEM constituency and provide good practices for their wider implementation
PARTICIPANTS
The conference is designed to host about 60-70 participants from the international and Vietnamese expert community, including academics, researcher, government officials, and policy-makers. The outcome of the conference will feed into the 7th ASEM Education Ministers’ Meeting (ASEMME7) by proposing policy recommendations at cross-regional level to strengthen lifelong learning policies and practices in ASEM countries.
