Sixth International Conference on Adult Education
The date and venue of CONFINTEA VI have been confirmed:
It will take place from 19 to 22 May 2009 in Belém (State of Pará), Brazil, under the overall title: "Living and Learning for a Viable Future - The Power of Adult Learning".
CONFINTEA VI, a UNESCO Category II Intergovernmental Conference, will be:
• A platform for policy dialogue and advocacy on adult learning and education;
• To create commitment and action on adult learning and education;
• Pursuing three major objectives:
• To push forward the recognition of adult learning and education as an important element of and factor conducive to lifelong learning, of which literacy is the foundation;
• To highlight the crucial role of adult learning and education for the realization of current international education and development agendas (EFA, MDGs, UNLD, LIFE, and DESD);
• To renew political momentum and commitment and to develop the tools for implementation in order to move from rhetoric to action.
The overall thrust of CONFINTEA VI will be to draw attention to the relation and contribution of adult learning and education to sustainable development, conceived comprehensively as comprising a social, economic, ecological and cultural dimension. The themes to be explored will include policies, structures and financing for adult learning and education; inclusion and participation; the quality of adult learning and education; literacy and other key competencies; and poverty eradication.
CONFINTEA VI will be preceded by five Regional Preparatory Conferences, which are programmed in relation to the overall thematic focus, however adapted to the respective Regional specificities. The regional conferences will discuss and validate the respective Regional Synthesis Report (prepared on the basis of national reports on the development and state of the art of aduit learning and education), identify the key issues on adult learning and education in the region, and suggest key recommendations and benchmarks for adult learning and education for CONFINTEA VI.
The schedule for the Regional Preparatory Conferences is:
• For Latin America and the Caribbean:
"From Literacy to Lifelong Learning: Towards the Challenges of the 21st Century",
10- 13 September 2008 in Mexico City (Mexico).
Organized in cooperation with the Mexican National Institute for Adult Education (INEA) on behalf of the Government of Mexico, the UNESCO Regional Bureau for in Latin America and the Caribbean in Santiago de Chile (OREALC), the UNESCO Office for United Nations Priorities (ED/UNP), and the UNESCO Office Mexico.
• For Asia/Pacific:
"Building Equitable and Sustainable Societies in Asia and Pacific: the Challenge to Adult Learning", 6-8 October 2008 in Seoul (Republic of Korea). Organized in cooperation with the Korean National Institute for Lifelong Education (NILE) on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Korea, the UNESCO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, and the UNESCO Office in Beijing.
• For Africa:
"The Power of Youth and Adult Learning for African Development", 5-7 November 2008 in Nairobi (Kenya). Organized in cooperation with the Department of Adult Education of the Ministry of Education on behalf of the Government of Kenya, the Regional Bureau of Education in Africa in Dakar, and the UNESCO Office in Nairobi.
• For Europe and North America and Israel:
"Adult Learning for Equity and Inclusion in a Context of Mobility and Competition", 3-5 December 2008 in Budapest (Hungary). Organized in cooperation with the Hungarian Institute for Culture on behalf of the Government of Hungary.
• For the Arab States:
5-7 January 2009 in Tunis (Tunesia). Organized in cooperation with the UNESCO Regional Office in Beirut.
Apart from the Regional Synthesis Reports, a Global Report on Adult Learning and Education (GRALE) is under preparation, whose main results will feed into the CONFINTEA VI Working Document. Based on these reports as well as on the consultations and outcomes of the Regional conferences, CONFINTEA VI will aim at the adoption of a "Framework for Action" with key strategies/recommendations and benchmarks for renewed action in and monitoring of adult learning and education.
Information Update
(10 July 2008)