Education is a fundamental right, and a key lever for inclusive and sustainable development. Widely recognized as such, education has been occupying a prominent place in the ongoing global discussions around the post-2015 development agenda. At the same time, the “what” and “how” of education to contribute to the future development of society is under fierce debate in many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. While remarkable progress has been made in improving access across all levels of education, there are growing concerns over the quality of learning experienced by learners in schools and education programmes, as well as inequitable access to quality learning experiences.
In this context, UNESCO Bangkok will organize the Third Regional High-level Expert Meeting “Beyond 2015: Transforming Teaching and Learning in Asia-Pacific” from 16 to 18 October 2013 in Bangkok, Thailand. Building on the previous expert meetings on education beyond 2015, this meeting will discuss the question ‘What quality learning for the future?’, and address issues of teaching and learning towards policy reform in the Asia-Pacific region. The meeting is also a follow-up to the Asia-Pacific regional thematic consultation on education in the post-2015 development agenda held in early 2013 in Bangkok, which called for quality learning for all in the region towards 2015 and beyond. The outcomes of the discussion at the meeting will feed into the process to develop a post-2015 framework on education.
The meeting is made possible by the generous support of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) of Japan and the Korean National Commission for UNESCO.
Objectives
The meeting aims to:
- Facilitate the exchange of knowledge and experiences on various approaches to teaching and learning in the Asia-Pacific region;
- Identify features of teaching and learning practices that respond to the changing learning requirements of the future; and
- Prepare regional inputs for a post-2015 framework for education focusing on quality learning.
Expected Outputs
The meeting will yield recommendations on teaching and learning for policy reform in countries in the Asia Pacific region as well as for discussions on post-2015 education goals and targets. They will feed into the regional conference on Education for All (EFA) and beyond planned to be held in mid-2014, and eventually the global events on education, such as the World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development to be held in Nagoya, Japan in November 2014, and the global conference on education to be held in the Republic of Korea in May 2015.
Participants
Government representatives, experts and researchers from universities and research institutions, key international/regional/national organizations and civil society and non-governmental organizations.
Contact
Education Research and Foresight Team, Education Policy and Reform Unit, UNESCO Bangkok: epr.erf@unesco.org.
Relevant Meeting Documents
- Concept Note and Outline of the Programme
- Agenda
- List of Participants
- Biographies of Speakers
- Abstracts of Presentations
- General Information Note
- Day 2 Break-out Discussion Guiding Questions
- List of Papers and Reports on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda
- List of National Plans and Strategies That Go Beyond 2015
- Outcome Statement of Part A of the Meeting
Presentations/Speeches
- Day 1: What teaching and learning for the future?
- Day 2: What teaching and learning for the future?
- Day 3: Quality education in Asia-Pacific beyond 2015
Related Links
- 1st Regional High-Level Expert Meeting (May 2012)
- 2nd Regional High-Level Expert Meeting (November 2012)
- Regional Thematic Consultation on Education in the Post-2015 Development Agenda (February 2013)
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