Towards a national lifelong learning strategy for Uzbekistan

On December 15-16, DVV International, in cooperation with the representative office of UNESCO in Tashkent, held a joint workshop to launch the development of a national lifelong learning strategy in Uzbekistan.

Participants were policy-makers and experts from the line ministries and centres responsible for the education of adults as well as the civil society partners and international experts.

The workshop initiated discussions on the access and quality of lifelong learning opportunities in Uzbekistan for sustainable, inclusive and smart growth, raised awareness about the concept of lifelong learning within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and shared good practices on creating an enabling environment for lifelong learning opportunities for all.

In small groups, participants discussed problems that need to be considered and addressed while drafting the national strategy. As a result of the seminar a cross-sector working group is planned to be established which will develop the draft of the national strategy on lifelong learning for Uzbekistan in 2017.

This workshop is to be seen as the continuation of the efforts of DVV International to develop policies and strategies aimed at creating opportunities for lifelong learning in Uzbekistan. This work began with the preparation of a policy paper, which along with the assessment of achievements of Uzbekistan in ensuring access to education, reflects on existing problems in the field of human rights regarding lifelong learning. In this document, DVV International and UNESCO representatives, with the participation of experts from the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) have also issued a number of recommendations to improve the situation.

The document was then presented and discussed at a roundtable in June in the Senate of Uzbekistan. The participants from the government and non-governmental education organisations stressed the importance for Uzbekistan to develop a national strategy for lifelong learning and agreed to continue work in this direction.