Second World Conference
Seoul, Republic of Korea
25 - 28 May 2010
The Second World Conference on Arts Education (Seoul, May 2010) built on the work of the successful First World Conference. As well as reinforcing the many dimensions discussed at the first Conference, it enlarged the scope to notably include the socio-cultural dimensions of arts education, embrace the diversity of learning environments and reinforce the role of arts education in social cohesion and cultural diversity.
Gathering more than 650 international experts from over 95 UNESCO Member States, the Conference was heralded as a success by participants and organizers alike.
The Conference also assessed and reinforced support for the Road Map for Arts Education, as well as providing the different arts education stakeholders present a creative forum of discussion where they could exchange ideas and practices and review the state of knowledge of research on arts education. This collaborative work lead to further development of arts education and its scope, focused on providing quality lifelong learning experiences to all members of society addressing the socio-cultural challenges facing the rapidly-changing world of the 21st century.
The main outcome of the Conference was the Seoul Agenda: Goals for the Development of Arts Education. The Seoul Agenda calls upon UNESCO Member States, civil society, professional organizations and communities to recognize its governing goals, to employ the proposed strategies, and to implement the action items in a concerted effort to realize the full potential of high quality arts education to positively renew educational systems, to achieve crucial social and cultural objectives, and ultimately to benefit children, youth and life-long learners of all ages.
The Seoul Agenda reaffirmed the importance of the work of Arts Education observatories as an essential tool in developing and distributing arts education research as well as disseminating exemplary arts education practices.
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