The Asia South Pacific Association for Basic and Adult Education (ASPBAE) is one of DVV International’s key partners in Asia. The network represents 264 civil society organisations and individual members in 31 countries. On the occasion of ASPBAE’s 60th anniversary in November 2024, Helen Dabu, Secretary General of ASPBAE, talks about the successes and challenges of this civil society network.
ASPBAE can look back on a history of over 60 years. From your perspective, what were key successes and achievements of ASPBAE’s work over the past decades?
First, ASPBAE persisted in safeguarding civil society spaces in education processes and sustained a strong regional civil society voice in the Asia Pacific, a voice that articulates education as a right for all generations and with greater attention to the most marginalised. This has been possible through ASPBAE’s many efforts in continuously strengthening the capacities of its members in protecting and defending the education agenda, from basic education to youth and adult learning and education.
Second, ASPBAE has successfully influenced the regional and global agenda for education and development over its six decades of operation. We achieved this by building on the efforts of our members at the country level and forging strategic links with inter-governmental policy spaces, where we can hold governments to account on their commitments to education. This included shaping the “Education for All” agenda during the era of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), through to the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG4 on education. More specifically, for adult learning and education (ALE), ASPBAE has worked closely with its long-standing partners, in particular DVV International and the International Council for Adult Education (ICAE), in shaping the outcomes of the International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA) over the decades of these processes.
Civil society is under pressure worldwide – how does this affect your work? How do you support your members to address this challenge?
Indeed, we are always being challenged to prove our value and constantly need to protect our space in accountability processes. ASPBAE has navigated through these pressure points in the last 60 years by confidently occupying decision-making spaces at various levels and skilfully demonstrating our capacity to engage and work with governments, UN agencies, development partners and other stakeholders in shaping the agenda for education and development. We also work closely with our members and provide the space they need to share their difficulties and country realities, fostering wider solidarity within ASPBAE’s members and partners at the regional and global level. In certain instances, and in consultation with our members in specific countries, we offer our regional voice and issue statements of solidarity and support to civil society work amidst the restrictions and pressures meted out by state forces or governments.
What role does the partnership with DVV International play in your work?
DVV International’s sustained, context-based and empowering partnership approach with ASPBAE has allowed us to articulate our Asia Pacific civil society voice and agenda for education, especially on adult learning and education. It supports us to pursue our intergenerational actions for peace, inclusion, gender equality, global citizenship, climate action and social justice by strengthening ALE policies and practices in our region.
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