The World Conference on Adult Learning and Education, CONFINTEA VII, in Morocco is around the corner. In 2022, UNESCO and the Moroccan government will invite world leaders, scientists and civil society representatives to re-think adult learning and education (ALE) and agree on a new agenda for the next twelve years. Since the last conference in 2009 in Belém, Brazil, a lot has changed. The Sustainable Development Goals adopted in 2015 shaped the new agenda, and lifelong learning was agreed to be the leading paradigm for the education sector. In this context, ALE advocates will use CONFINTEA VII as a unique chance to promote better support for the sector as an integral part of lifelong learning.
CONFINTEA is a process, consisting of several elements. It started with national surveys on the state-of-the-art of ALE. It continues with sub-regional and regional conferences this year and culminates in the global event next year. The UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning (UIL) coordinates the process. DVV International is committed to support its implementation. Together with UIL and the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), DVV International organised a series of capacity-building events on developing national surveys in order to ensure the participation of civil society actors as well as a decent quality to the reports. At the moment, DVV International, with its partners, is engaged in planning and implementing the sub-regional and regional events which are an integral preparatory part of CONFINTEA. The following example from Central Asia will provide some insights into these processes.
The CONFINTEA VII preparation process coincided with a strategic planning exercise by DVV International and partners in 2020 regarding the planning of future work at macro level in Central Asia from 2021 to 2023. For that reason, a comparative analysis of ALE policies in three Central Asian countries was conducted. Country-level studies on Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as a regional synthesis, were outsourced to a group of external ALE-sector consultants. The aim was to produce a comprehensive analysis covering all aspects of ALE (legislative framework, ALE providers, financing, etc.). Special attention was paid to identifying best practices in promotion and lobbying of ALE for possible multiplication within the region.
The findings of the reports, together with the recommendations, provided the regional office and its partners with detailed information on the status quo of ALE in the three countries covered. Furthermore, they established evidence for strategizing, identified mid-term and long-term benefits of continuing the support to ALE through state and non-state partners in the countries, and provided recommendations for improving the national ALE systems in the region.
As the preparations for CONFINTEA VII were going on in parallel, the results of the macro-level analysis were made available to state and non-state partners. These results were also the basis for providing advice on answering the survey questions of the UNESCO Institute for Lifelong Learning’s Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) [1] by the official focal points designated for that task in the Ministries relevant to ALE in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan in 2020.
Furthermore, the findings and conclusions were used to contribute to the Sub-Regional Consultation for CONFINTEA VII in Central Asia. A virtual event on 25 February 2021, organised by UNESCO offices in Almaty (Kazakhstan) and Bangkok (Thailand) in cooperation with DVV International, brought together government representatives, experts in ALE, and leaders of civil society and non-governmental organisations from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The consultation was an important preparatory event allowing participants to come together and identify current and future challenges, innovative practice, and common opportunities as they prepare for CONFINTEA VII. DVV International’s Regional Director for Central Asia presented a summary of the findings and recommendations from the macro-level analytical reports, including topics for future regional exchange.
Following this consultation, a sub-regional report on key challenges, opportunities, and recommendations for renewed policies and action in ALE in the region is now being prepared, taking into account the results of DVV International’s analytical work in 2020. This report, which is co-funded by UNESCO’s Cluster Office for Central Asia in Almaty and DVV International Central Asia, will serve as direct input for the further preparatory process of CONFINTEA VII. For example it will be presented at the upcoming Regional CONFINTEA VII Preparatory Conference for Asia-Pacific to take place in July 2021.
In parallel with each of the world’s regions, Central Asia will continue its CONFINTEA preparations by producing a regional report on ALE for the entire Asian region. It will reflect the regional specificities and highlight the main trends and issues. The conclusions and report of the Asia Regional Preparatory Conference will prepare the ground for the Global Conference in Morocco from an Asian perspective.
Thanks to the groundwork done in the course of 2020 and the strong partnership with UNESCO in Central Asia, DVV International Central Asia will remain involved and continue to strengthen the CONFINTEA preparation process by contributing ALE-related analyses and enabling the integration of civil society perspectives and competences in the process.
[1] GRALE provides a clear and comprehensive picture of the state of adult learning and education around the world. More information on the reports can be found on the website of UIL: uil.unesco.org/adult-education/global-report
DVV International operates worldwide with more than 200 partners in over 30 countries.
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