The UNESCO International Conference on Adult Education (CONFINTEA) is a UNESCO intergovernmental conference for research and advocacy related to policy dialogue on adult learning and education, and has been held every 12 to 13 years since 1949. This time, the 7th meeting was held in Morocco from June 15th to 17th, 2022, and from the Adult Learning and Education (ALE) project in DEAR, Koarai (JNNE Secretary General) and Miyake (JNNE Secretariat) Director), Kondo (DEAR Vice President), Nakamura (DEAR Secretary General), and Ito (DEAR Secretariat) participated.

Prior to CONFINTEA7, the Civil Society Forum was held on June 14th, sponsored by the ICAE (Adult Education Association) . Therefore, this time, we will report on the Civil Society Forum in the first part and CONFINTEA7 of this meeting in the second part in three parts.

The debriefing session on this conference is scheduled to be held on Saturday, October 1st. Details will also be published in the magazine "Development Education No. 69" (issued in December 2022).

１）市民社会フォーラム「なぜなら未来は待ってくれないから」(6月14日開催)

The Civil Society Forum was held as a hybrid of face-to-face and online, with approximately 100 participants from civil society organizations (CSOs) around the world and approximately 80 online. At the forum, the latest trends in adult learning and education in the world / region as a whole will be confirmed, problems and priorities will be discussed, and the process of the " Marrakech Framework for Action (MFA) " adopted by CONFINTEA 7 and points of discussion will be presented. it was done. In the workshop between participants, the keyword was the proposal for the "Marrakech Framework for Action" and it was reflected in the proposal (manifest) of civil society. The program is introduced below.

The sponsored ICAE is a global network that promotes learning and education for adults, with ASPBAE as a member and DEAR as a member of ASPBAE . ICAE is an organization that has an associate relationship with UNESCO, is qualified as an advisor to the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and functions as a mechanism to reflect the voice of civil society on a global scale at the UNESCO International Council for Adult Education. increase.

You can see the details of ICAE here .

■ Program

1. Opening ceremony
2. Plenary session
   ・ Civil society and ALE: A turning point on the road to CONFINTEA7
3. Spotlight Report · ICAE Spotlight Report Presentation for CONFINTEA 7 · Local Voices Emphasizing Challenges and Priorities
4. ALE Manifest ・ Introduction of ALE Manifest by ICAE: Purpose, Structure, Contents
5. Advocacy of the Civil Society Forum for CONFINTEA7 and the Malakesh Action Framework ・ Introduction of the structure of CONFINTEA7 ・ Introduction of the overall structure of the Malakesh Action Framework ・ Identification of specific advocacy fields
6. Workshop World Cafe / Civil Society Recommendation Message for MFA (Group Work)
7. Declaration of Civil Society Forum for CONFINTEA7 ・ Report on group work from venues and online moderators ・ Advocacy points for CONFINTEA7 CSO declaration
8. Closing Ceremony ・ Walking together toward the future we share, not closing ・ Notice about the Civil Society Forum Plus Program from June 15th to 17th ・ Launch of the ICAE 50th Anniversary Project

[Reference] Civil Society Forum Program

 

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２）市民社会からの提案

■ Group work

At the workshop between participants, we divided into groups for each speaker of English, French and Arabic, and made suggestions for the Marrakech Framework for Action as keywords.

In the program just before that, "Specific commentary on specific advocacy fields", "At this stage, the structure of the text of the Marrakech Framework for Action cannot be changed significantly, but even a single word has great significance for civil society. Helen Bab, the secretary general of ASPBAE, said, "I will somehow screw it in because it may lead to the promotion of activities (Ito interpretation)", and what each group will bring as a message of civil society , We discussed what was missing in the group and worked on making it a keyword.

In my group, the ALE project team in DEAR has been discussing for a long time, "The budget for ALE should be 4% of the national education budget", and "Literacy is important for both developing and developed countries. He gave opinions such as "that" and "statement of indigenous peoples, persons with disabilities, and discriminated persons who are the specific targets of inclusion, and respect for the area and traditional knowledge there."

Participants from Ireland (AONTAS Ireland National Adult Education Association) , who were in the same group, actively complained about "learner voice".

■ Irish learning survey

What was shocking to be shared in the development of the group's story was that in Ireland, a learning survey (including a literacy survey) is conducted once a year, and the policy based on evidence is I was reminded of the need. Even so, there was a mention that "the people who are really, the most, the most left behind may not have been investigated," and I felt that it was a point of view that should not be forgotten. While there are policies that need to be put in place, I also felt the need for a system to listen to the voices of each and every citizen.

As a supplement, Ireland issues a " National Future Education and Training Strategy " every five years, which is to develop skills, promote inclusiveness, and develop career paths3. It has set a five-year roadmap for this area, centered on two key pillars, and aims to address the economic and social challenges facing the next few years. There is SOLAS as the executing agency of this strategy, and it is said that it conducts research, strategy planning, and execution with public funds as an institution of the "Ministry of Continuing Education, Research, Innovation, and Science" in Ireland.

■ Suggested keywords from civil society

The story was a little off, but after such group work, the following keywords were finally put together as a proposal for the Civil Society Forum to the Marrakech Framework for Action. And these keywords were finally put together in a way that was reflected in the manifesto of civil society.

３）市民社会マニュフェスト

With this Civil Society Manifest , we will provide a statement, especially as a contribution to the process of developing the Marrakech Framework for Action (MFA).

The Japanese translation is posted on this page of the ALE Knowledge Site for your reference.

Based on this manifesto, the proposal for the final "Marrakech Framework for Action" was summarized as follows.

1. Strengthen ALE financial commitments to suit national circumstances
2. Expansion of efforts to implement literacy rate improvement policy
3. Strengthen support for ALE teachers and educators as a central means of ensuring quality ALE
4. Incorporate learners' voices into the planning, design and implementation of ALE policies and programs

This is the end of the first part, and the second part will focus on the state of CONFINTEA 7 which was held from the next day and how the recommendations from civil society were reflected in the "Marrakech Framework for Action". (Report: Ito)

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